Chiefs to Hire DeMarco Murray as Running Backs Coach

The Kansas City Chiefs are set to add DeMarco Murray to their staff as running backs coach, continuing an offseason of notable changes on the offensive side of the ball. The move brings a decorated former NFL runner and rising position coach to Andy Reid’s staff.

Staff reshuffle under Andy Reid

The addition of Murray arrives as the Chiefs reorganize their offensive brain trust. Eric Bieniemy is returning to the offensive coordinator role following the departure of Matt Nagy, restoring a familiar voice to the play-calling structure. Murray’s hiring fits within that broader reset, aligning a fresh position coach with a coordinator who has extensive experience in the system.

The running backs coach role is central to the Chiefs’ weekly preparation, balancing ground-game concepts with protection responsibilities and route duties out of the backfield. Under Reid and with Bieniemy back in the chair, Murray will be tasked with integrating backs into multiple personnel groupings, maintaining ball security standards, and pairing the run game with the quick, timing-based passing attack that has long defined the offense.

From Pro Bowl star to position coach

Murray, 38, built a reputation as a multidimensional runner during a seven-year NFL career. Selected in the third round of the 2011 draft by Dallas, he rushed for 7,174 yards on 1,604 carries (4.5 yards per carry) and added 307 receptions for 2,165 yards, totaling 55 touchdowns in 99 games. His 2014 season stands out as an all-time campaign, earning Offensive Player of the Year honors and anchoring one of the league’s premier rushing attacks. He was a three-time Pro Bowl selection.

His professional journey also included a stint with Tennessee, and he concluded his playing career in 2018. That offseason, his release in Tennessee freed significant cap space, and he formally announced his retirement later that year. The breadth of his experience—featured back, pass-catcher, short-yardage option, and protector—provides a strong blueprint for coaching NFL backs through the varied demands of the position.

College coaching foundation

After retiring, Murray quickly transitioned to coaching. He began his sideline work in 2019 as the running backs coach at the University of Arizona, where he learned the craft under an experienced collegiate staff. In 2020, he took over as running backs coach at the University of Oklahoma, returning to the program where he starred as a player. He has held that role since, developing his approach to teaching footwork, decision-making on wide- and inside-zone concepts, blitz pickup mechanics, and receiving technique out of the backfield.

His college stop provided hands-on recruiting and player development responsibilities, sharpening his eye for talent and refining his communication style—skills that translate cleanly to pro meeting rooms and practice fields. The shift to the NFL reunites him with the week-to-week grind of game-planning against elite defenses, now from a teacher’s vantage point.

What Murray brings to Kansas City’s backfield

Murray’s perspective blends star-level playing experience with recent, detailed instruction at the position. Expect an emphasis on vision, tempo, and leverage in zone schemes; disciplined pressing of the line of scrimmage; and precise footwork in the mesh. In pass protection, his background suggests a focus on recognition and strike timing, ensuring backs diagnose pressure and anchor against interior and edge rushers. As receiving threats, backs under Murray can anticipate rigorous work on releases, angle routes, screens, and yards-after-catch finishing.

In a system that thrives on multiplicity, the running backs coach is also a connector between the offensive line and the passing game. Murray’s track record as a complete back positions him to harmonize those elements, enhancing the offense’s unpredictability and situational efficiency.

Next steps in the offseason transition

With Murray set to join the staff and Bieniemy returning to coordinate, the Chiefs move into the core of their offseason with a clarified offensive hierarchy. Spring installations and early on-field work will provide the first look at how the backfield’s fundamentals and role definitions evolve under Murray’s guidance. The continuity of the overarching scheme, paired with fresh positional teaching, sets a foundation for refining details while maintaining the offense’s identity.

The hire reflects a targeted approach: adding a coach whose modern playing experience and collegiate development chops align with the team’s standards for versatility, ball security, and situational football. As the offseason progresses, Murray’s imprint on the running backs room will begin to take shape, with an eye toward consistent production and complementary balance in the attack.

Sources consulted: NFLTradeRumors.co, A to Z Sports