Colorado Expected to Reach Out to Chiefs OC Eric Bieniemy Over Vacant Head Coaching Position

The Colorado football program and its fanbase was sent in a state of complete fury when Mel Tucker, just days after announcing he was not leaving for Michigan State, reversed course and joined the Spartans.

While things look grim right now, Colorado could have a potentially transformative candidate coming down the pike.

Kansas City Chiefs offensive coordinator Eric Bieniemy, a former Colorado running back, has been considered as a potential option to replace Tucker.

Bieniemy was a legendary running back at Colorado, winning two Big Eight titles and a national championship in 1990 under head coach Bill McCartney. Bieniemy ran for nearly 4,000 yards and 41 touchdowns, while finishing third in the Heisman voting in 1990.

After a nine-year NFL career, Bieniemy returned to Colorado, where he served as the running backs coach in 2001 and 2002, plus offensive coordinator in 2011 and 2012. After being hired by the Chiefs as their running backs coach in 2013, he became offensive coordinator after Matt Nagy took the Chicago Bears job in 2018.

Bieniemy is a campus legend who went on to help make Patrick Mahomes one of the best players in the league. The highly-regarded assistant just won a Super Bowl, and was a candidate for NFL head coaching jobs this cycle. It goes without saying, but he'd be a home run hire for Colorado.

Tucker's abrupt departure for East Lansing will sting, but that pain could be remedied instantly if the Buffaloes can convince Bieniemy to leave the NFL behind and come back home to Boulder.