- Close
ESPN Senior Writer- College football reporter; joined ESPN in 2008. Graduate of Northwestern University.
- Close
ESPN Senior Writer- Jake Trotter covers college football for ESPN. He joined ESPN in 2011. Before that, he worked at The Oklahoman, Austin American-Statesman and Middletown (Ohio) Journal newspapers. You can follow him @Jake_Trotter.
UCLA has fired offensive coordinator Eric Bieniemy after one season, a source confirmed to ESPN on Thursday.
Indiana quarterbacks coach and co-offensive coordinator Tino Sunseri has agreed to replace Bieniemy after the College Football Playoff and is finalizing details of his deal with the Bruins, sources told ESPN.
The Bruins ranked 126th nationally among FBS teams in scoring (18.4 points per game) this past season and failed to put up more than 20 points over their final four games. They also ranked 117th in total offense (328.8 yards per game) and had the nation's fifh-worst rushing attack (86.6 yards per game).
UCLA finished 5-7 this season, failing to reach bowl eligibility.
Offensive line coach Juan Castillo also is not expected to return at UCLA, sources told ESPN's Pete Thamel.
Bieniemy joined coach DeShaun Foster's staff after calling plays for the NFL's Washington Commanders last season. Before that, he was the offensive coordinator for the Kansas City Chiefs and two Super Bowl teams.
Bieniemy's buyout is worth more than $1.2 million, a source told Thamel.
His agent, Jason Fletcher, told ESPN in a statement that Bieniemy's exit was "previously planned" and that "the plan was always to return to the NFL in 2025."
Uncertainty with the Bruins' offensive coordinator position was a factor in four-star quarterback recruit Madden Iamaleava's decision to flip from UCLA to Arkansas on national signing day, a source told ESPN's Eli Lederman.
But another QB recruit, Robert McDaniel of the Class of 2025, told Thamel on Thursday that he's switching his commitment to UCLA from Arizona.
McDaniel cited his relationship with Sunseri as a major factor in his decision, noting "who he's worked with and the guys that he's put into the league."
McDaniel is a three-star quarterback from Hughson, California. He also had offers from Virginia, Indiana and Florida.
Bieniemy was hired as associate head coach and offensive coordinator shortly after DeShaun Foster was hired as head coach in February. Bieniemy was also on the Bruins staff from 2003-05 as running backs coach.
Sunseri spent one season at Indiana after following Hoosiers head coach Curt Cignetti from James Madison. Cignetti and Sunseri worked together for four seasons, the first three with the Dukes, who made the most successful transition from FCS to FBS in history.
Sunseri worked closely with Hoosiers quarterback Kurtis Rourke, a transfer from Mid-American Conference school Ohio. Rourke went on to have one of the best seasons in Hoosiers history as No. 9 Indiana (11-1, 8-1 Big Ten, No. 9 CFP) broke single-season school records for victories and conference wins and appears set to make its CFP debut in two weeks.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.