News of a Kansas City Chiefs coaching change became all too clear on Monday morning when the team requested an interview with current Chicago Bears running backs coach Eric Bieniemy to fill Kansas City’s vacant offensive coordinator spot. It’s a role Bieniemy served from 2018 to 2022.
This news does not come as a shock, but it is certainly not what some fans wanted to hear, considering that many want an outside voice to provide the Chiefs' offense with fresh ideas in an offensive scheme that got stale and predictable last season.
Since Bieniemy’s departure from the Chiefs, he served as the OC of the Washington Commanders in 2023 and then again as OC, but in the college ranks at UCLA in 2024, before taking his current job with the Bears. It’s not exactly the strongest resume, as he basically got demoted three times since leaving Kansas City.
Eric Bieniemy Being the Next Chiefs OC Would Be a Huge Mistake
It’s well known that Bieniemy is not an overly acute offensive mind, and that he never called the plays in Kansas City; he just relayed them from head coach Andy Reid to quarterback Patrick Mahomes
This news also signifies that, despite what quarterback Patrick Mahomes wants, head coach Andy Reid still runs One Arrowhead Drive. In a recent interview, Mahomes made it clear that the fans aren’t the only ones who want new ideas for the offense and someone who holds players accountable. The first thing to take from those comments is that there is clear frustration from the QB to hire coaches who are not afraid to tell players what to do.
Mahomes also implied that the offense is regressing, which is more of a dig at Reid, as it’s his offense more than anything. The years-long shortcomings of the Chiefs' offense can be attributed to a multitude of factors, but the biggest one has been the overall functionality of the plays. The Chiefs run the same sheet of plays every game and expect them to work as well as they did five years ago.
The the NFL changes fast, and defenses adapt, so offenses need to as well.
The argument for Bieniemy returning does have its strong points, however. Bieniemy served as the Chiefs' OC during quarterback Patrick Mahomes formative years as a pro. During that span, he helped KC reach the top six in both points and yards every single season, the last of which was without superstar receiver Tyreek Hill.
Hiring Bieniemy Has Perks, But Doesn't Make Him Right for the Job
Bieniemy’s style of coaching has also been sorely missing since his departure. It was clear over the last few years that a lack of attention to detail, personal accountability, and overall communication on the field was absent in major portions of games. Bieniemy brings in all that with a demanding voice that the Chiefs locker room respected in the past, and was better for it.
If Bieniemy does end up in this new but familiar role with the Chiefs, it signifies a franchise still stuck in its old ways and a head coach in Andy Reid, who is foregoing bringing in people to challenge him with new ideas. The Chiefs' offense won’t change if Reid doesn’t, and to his credit, he has done it before. He transformed the offense in 2018 to fit Mahomes and then again in 2022 after Hill was traded.
Hiring Bieniemy would bring a strong voice that demands excellence in every facet of the team. While valuable, it’s not what the Chiefs need most, and it's a move that could put Kansas City on a path to further display mediocre offenses, despite having an all-time great signal-caller at QB.