Penn State will play three of the Big Ten’s newest members during the 2024 college football season, including two of them at home. Penn State will welcome UCLA to Beaver Stadium for the first time since 1963 this fall, and the Bruins may have one of the most talked-about names as an offensive coordinator in recent years calling the shots.
Following a late coaching staff shakeup with the departure of head coach Chip Kelly to be Ohio State’s new offensive coordinator (replacing former Penn State head coach Bill O’Brien after he accepted a head coaching offer from Boston College), the Bruins named DeShaun Foster the next head coach of the program as they prepare for competing in the Big Ten. And now he has an offensive coordinator with the signing of Eric Bienemy.
Bienemy has been talked about as a potential head coaching candidate for various NFL and college jobs in recent years thanks to his success in the NFL as an offensive coordinator with the Kansas City Chiefs. Despite receiving some interviews for head coaching positions, Bienemy has continued to hold offensive coordinator titles with the Chiefs and, last season, the Washington Commanders. Bienemy became available following coaching changes with the Commanders under new ownership. Now a return to UCLA has fallen into place.
Bienemy previously served on the UCLA coaching staff in his coaching career. He was the team’s running backs coach from 2003 to 2005. He then left for a job in the NFL with the Minnesota Vikings before returning to his alma mater, Colorado, in 2011 to run the offense. His success at Colorado led to a job with the Chiefs in 2013, where he was a part of Andy Reid’s staff for 10 years as the Chiefs built a roster primed for a dynasty.
So Penn State defensive coordinator Tom Allen will get a chance to work against a Bienemy-coached offense this fall. The Nittany Lions would appear to have an advantage on the Bruins this far out, but it will be interesting to see if Bienemy can inject some life into the UCLA offense as they jump into the Big Ten for the first time.
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