First-year head coach Alonzo Carter is making a change within his coaching staff, sources shared with FootballScoop.
Carter, hired in mid-December 2025 to replace Brennan Marion who coached the team one season, has felt the challenge of leading the program’s jump from FCS to FBS (and subsequent MAC affiliation). Carter's Hornets are 1-7 overall and 0-5 in conference play. The lone win came against non-Division I opponent Mississippi Valley State; the team has been held under 20 points in all seven FBS contests while allowing nearly 33 points per game.
Sources tells FootballScoop, Carter has fired corners coach Dakari Monroe.
Monroe, a San Jose State alum and former Arizona graduate assistant (worked together with Carter at Arizona), was among the initial wave of staff additions announced late last December.
Sacramento State’s defense has struggled to consistently keep opponents in check during the program’s first FBS season. Through eight games the unit is allowing 32.9 points and roughly 371.5 yards per game (near the bottom half of FBS in scoring defense and around the middle in total yards). The Hornets did pitch a shutout and held Mississippi Valley State to just 43 yards in their only win, but against FBS competition the results have been uneven to poor: they have surrendered 28 or more points in every other contest, including 49 to Fresno State, 48 to Ohio, and 38 to Bowling Green.
The secondary has been relatively more effective against the pass (opponents averaging under 200 yards through the air) than the front has been against the run (about 177 rushing yards allowed per game). Takeaways have been scarce—only a handful of interceptions and fumble recoveries for the season—and the defense has generated limited pressure (roughly one sack per game). Advanced metrics place the unit in the lower third nationally in predicted points added and success rate, leaving it with little margin for error while the offense ranks among the nation’s worst in scoring. Individual bright spots have included safety Boogsie Silvera (team-high tackles and three interceptions) and some productive snaps from the linebacker group, but overall the defense has been overmatched against balanced or explosive attacks and has often been forced to play extended snaps.
The Hornets return to action Friday night at home against Kent State.
In this video from two weeks ago, Coach Carter addresses many of the issues on the defensive side of the ball; but says he believes in this team and his staff.
As always, stay tuned to The Scoop for the latest coaching news.