KANSAS CITY, Mo. — The Kansas City Chiefs aren’t wasting time after a disastrous 6-11 campaign. On Thursday, the team officially hired former NFL Offensive Player of the Year DeMarco Murray as their new running backs coach. Murray, who has spent the last six seasons developing talent at the University of Oklahoma, joins Andy Reid’s staff with a singular, urgent mission: resurrect a rushing attack that ranked No. 25 in the league last season.
The Reid-Murray Connection
This isn’t just a standard staff hire; it’s a strategic overhaul. With Patrick Mahomes recovering from a torn ACL suffered in Week 15 against the Chargers, the Chiefs know they can’t ask their franchise quarterback to carry the entire offense in 2026. They need a run game that travels.
Murray brings immediate credibility. The former Dallas Cowboys star knows exactly what it takes to dominate on the ground, having racked up a league-leading 1,845 yards in 2014. After cutting his teeth in the college ranks since 2019, Murray now leaps to the pros to replace Todd Pinkston. He walks into a running backs room that averaged a meager 106.6 yards per game last year and scored just 23 times on the ground.
“He’s been there. He’s done it at an All-Pro level. When a guy like DeMarco Murray tells you to hit the hole a certain way, you don’t ask why—you just do it. We need that toughness right now.” — Anonymous Chiefs Veteran
The Mahomes Factor: Why This Matters Now
The timing is critical. With Mahomes potentially sidelined for the start of the season—or at best, limited—the Chiefs must lean heavily on their backfield to keep the offense afloat. Murray’s arrival signals a shift toward a more physical, balanced attack designed to protect a recovering quarterback.
Murray joins a star-studded coaching network. While his former teammate Jason Witten holds down the tight ends room at Oklahoma and Deion Sanders runs the show at Colorado, Murray is the one making the jump to the NFL sidelines. If he can coax 2014-level production out of Kansas City’s backs, the Chiefs might just survive the early weeks of 2026 without their MVP at 100%.