Bieniemy was heavily recruited out of high school and chose to attend the University of Colorado Boulder. He was the nation's second leading rusher with the Buffaloes in 1990 with 1,628 yards, along with 17 touchdowns, and finished third in the Heisman Trophy balloting behind BYU's Ty Detmer and Notre Dame's Raghib Ismail. Bieniemy is Colorado's all-time leader in rushing, all-purpose yards, and touchdowns. Nicknamed "Scooter" and wearing No. 1, Bieniemy earned consensus All-America honors in 1990 as part of Colorado's national championship team. He was a two-time first-team all Big-Eight performer, in 1988 and 1990, earning the conference's offensive Player of the Year honor as a senior. As a junior, he was named to CU's prestigious 25-member "All-Century Football Team," the only active player at the time to be selected to the group honoring the first 100 years of Colorado Buffalo football. While at Colorado, Bieniemy was arrested following a February 1988 bar fight. Both Bieniemy and teammate Kanavis McGhee pleaded no contest—McGhee to a charge of second-degree assault, and Bieniemy to charges of disorderly conduct and fighting in public. They received deferred sentences and were ordered to perform community service. They were also subjected to unspecified disciplinary action by McCartney.. Also, on July 4, 1990, Bieniemy pleaded no contest in an incident in which he was accused of shoving a firefighter who had responded to his mother's house in Denver to douse a garage fire. Bieniemy received an eight-month suspended sentence and was suspended for one game.
National Football League
Bieniemy played from 1991 through 1999, and finished his career with 1,589 yards rushing, 1,223 yards receiving, 276 yards returning punts, 1,621 yards on kickoff returns, and 12 touchdowns while playing for the San Diego Chargers, Cincinnati Bengals and Philadelphia Eagles. ESPN broadcaster Chris Berman gave him the nickname "Eric 'sleeping with' Bieniemy", in reference to the 1991 film Sleeping with the Enemy. On September 27, 1993, Bieniemy was arrested in Boulder, Colorado for allegedly harassing a parking attendant. According to the police report, "Bieniemy was with five friends in a parking lot when he allegedly approached a lot attendant from behind and grabbed her by the neck. The victim told police the contact was not painful, but it startled her. She said the man also made comments while holding her." As a result of this incident, Bieniemy was banned from the University of Colorado Boulder campus for one year.
Following UCLA's 2005 Sun Bowl victory, Bieniemy accepted a position as running backs coach for the Minnesota Vikings in the NFL. During his time as the Vikings running back coach, his leading rusher Adrian Peterson, led the NFC in rushing with 1,341 yards in 2007 and also in 2008 with 1,760 yards, which was also tops in the NFL. On July 26, 2010, Bieniemy was also named the Vikings' assistant head coach for the offense.
Return to Colorado
On December 2, 2010, Bieniemy returned to Colorado as offensive coordinator under new head coachJon Embree.
Kansas City Chiefs
In 2013, Andy Reid hired Bieniemy to be the running backs coach for the Kansas City Chiefs. Reid was familiar with Bieniemy as Reid had coached him on the Philadelphia Eagles. In 2018, Reid promoted Bieniemy to offensive coordinator. In his first season as the Chiefs offensive coordinator, the Chiefs were first in the NFL in yards per game and points scored. The Chiefs scored the third-most points in a season in NFL history with 565. Additionally, Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes became the second quarterback in NFL history, along with Peyton Manning, to throw for 5,000 yards and 50 touchdowns in a season. In 2019, Bieniemy won his first Super Bowl when the Chiefs defeated the San Francisco 49ers 31-20 in Super Bowl LIV
Personal life
Bieniemy and his wife, Mia, have two sons, Eric III and Elijah. His nephew, Jamal, plays basketball at Oklahoma. Also is a member of Omega Psi Phi.
