An unpredictable week in college football continued Wednesday, as UCLA offensive coordinator Eric Bieniemy was fired, with likely plans to return to the NFL next season.
Fewer than four hours later, Tino Sunseri, Indiana’s quarterback coach and co-offensive coordinator, was reportedly hired to replace Bieniemy, according to The Indianapolis Star.
The news initially came from Hoosiers beat writer Zach Osterman, who cleared the mess in a single tweet.
“Breaking: Source tells IndyStar that Tino Sunseri, IU’s QBs coach/co-OC, will leave Indiana for the open offensive coordinator job at UCLA at the end of the season. Sunseri will remain with the Hoosiers through the Playoff,” Osterman wrote just after 1 p.m. ET.
Outside of a Week 13 loss to Ohio State, this is the only negative mark on a near-perfect season Indiana could have had. Coach Curt Cignetti now has a missing piece, one that will need to be filled rather quickly ahead of much greater anticipation for the football program next fall.
As for Bieniemy, it was always the plan to disassociate from UCLA, according to his agent, Jason Fletcher. The statement comes from a post on Adam Schefter’s Instagram, which has garnered over 30,000 likes in two hours.
“Eric and UCLA mutually parted ways today as previously planned,” the statement read. “He’s still getting paid by the Commanders. After interviewing for head coaching jobs last year, he wanted to stay active and busy. So, he decided to go help out Deshaun Foster, who is like his little brother, at UCLA as opposed to sitting out a year. The plan was always to return to the NFL in 2025, and he’s looking forward to the opportunities ahead.”
Indiana is seeking its first College Football Playoff appearance in program history. Last Saturday, it kept its national title hopes alive with a 66-point rout of Purdue.
The Hoosiers and Ohio State Buckeyes were the odd teams out of the Big Ten Championship Game thanks to Penn State’s win against Maryland and the Buckeyes’ loss to the bowl-eligible Michigan Wolverines.
Indiana is ranked No. 9 entering conference championship weekend, marking the 10th time the feat has been reached in school history.