EDEN PRAIRIE, Minn. -- Vikings running backs coach Eric Bieniemy is an early candidate for the open head-coaching job at the University of Colorado, his alma mater.
Vikings coach Brad Childress said Friday that he fielded a preliminary call from the school's search committee about Bieniemy, who also serves as the assistant head coach for offense in Minnesota.
Childress said he thinks "highly" of Bieniemy, who has coached under him in Minnesota since 2006.
Childress said he believes Bieniemy can be an offensive coordinator and eventually a head coach in the NFL. Childress also called Bieniemy "an excellent recruiter."
Bieniemy was an assistant at Colorado from 2001 to 2002 and at UCLA from 2003 to 2005. He was a standout running back for the Buffaloes and won a national championship with them in 1990.
Colorado fired head coach Dan Hawkins on Nov. 9.
Copyright 2010 by The Associated Press
