Kansas City Chiefs fans should have plenty of optimism that new RBs coach DeMarco Murray can fix running game problems
The Kansas City Chiefs have a new running backs coach and fans should be optimistic about the hire.
The Kansas City Chiefs have hired a new running backs coach following the departure of Todd Pinkston.
According to NFL Insider Jordan Schultz, the Chiefs are set to hire former NFL All-Pro RB DeMarco Murray as their running backs coach. A former third-round pick in the 2011 NFL Draft by the Dallas Cowboys out of the University of Oklahoma, Murray spent seven seasons in the NFL playing for the Cowboys, Philadelphia Eagles, and Tennessee Titans. In 2014, he earned First-Team All-Pro honors, NFL Offensive Player of the Year, and NFL rushing and rushing touchdown titles. He was a three-time Pro Bowler (2013, 2014, and 2016).
Murray began his coaching career in 2019, and after seven years in the college ranks, he’s returning to the NFL to coach running backs in Kansas City. He’ll bring a gap-running scheme, which will be well-suited to the Chiefs’ mauling offensive interior, which features Kingsley Suamataia, Creed Humphrey, and Trey Smith.
There are many reasons for optimism about this hire, which marks the second outside hire for Andy Reid’s offensive coaching staff. It certainly starts with the pairing between Murray and offensive coordinator Eric Bieniemy, who is also a former NFL running back. The two are known as no-nonsense coaches who value work ethic and toughness above all else.
Look at the full body of work before judging DeMarco Murray the coach
Oklahoma Sooners fans have some frustrations with Murray after the past few seasons, but it’s hard to deny his early coaching successes. At his first coaching stop as RBs coach with the Arizona Wildcats in 2019, Murray coached a backfield of J.J. Taylor, Gary Brightwell, Nate Tilford, Bam Smith, and Michael Wiley to 318 attempts for 1,660 rushing yards (5.2 yards per carry) and 15 rushing touchdowns.
Upon arriving at the Oklahoma Sooners as RBs coach in 2020, he was able to navigate a COVID-19-altered year and get the absolute most out of New England Patriots RB Rhamondre Stevenson. The following year, Murray produced his first 1,000-yard rusher in Kennedy Brooks. The following season, he got a 1,000-yard rushing performance out of Eric Gray. Stevenson and Gray have both gone on to become good NFL professionals.
It has since been a committee approach for the Sooners, with a lack of breakaway stars at the position leaving fans frustrated. This last season in particular, Oklahoma running backs carried the ball just 246 times for 1,034 rushing yards and nine rushing touchdowns.
DeMarco Murray has attracted significant interest from NFL and other college programs over the years
College football blue blood programs like Ohio State and Penn State have tried to poach Murray from Oklahoma before, but his ties to his alma mater (and his $863k salary) made it easy to decline. The NFL has also come calling in recent years, with Murray’s former team, the Dallas Cowboys, trying to recruit him for the RBs coach position. Even the Chiefs’ AFC West rival, the Las Vegas Raiders, attempted to bring him back to the NFL game. He declined both of those opportunities, but the opportunity to come to Kansas City was too good to pass up. I’m told that the biggest appeal was learning under a future Pro Football Hall of Fame head coach in Andy Reid, someone that Murray admired from afar during his NFL playing career.
The bottom line? That’s a lot of interest from some serious college and NFL programs for a young coach. It’s definitely not something you’d get if a guy weren’t cut out for the job. The reality is that he’s an ascending coach, and he’s going to be put into a position to succeed with the Chiefs. He’ll have a chance to build out the running back room in his image through the 2026 NFL free agency period and the 2026 NFL Draft, which is currently the most lackluster position on the 90-man offseason roster.
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