After a disappointing 2025 season, Kansas City Chiefs head coach Andy Reid brought back a familiar face to his coaching staff in hopes of avoiding a repeat performance in 2026.
That familiar face was Eric Bieniemy, who departed the Chicago Bears following their loss in the divisional round to the Los Angeles Rams. Bieniemy spent the 2025 season as the Bears' RBs coach but will be calling the shots in 2026 as Kansas City’s offensive coordinator.
Chiefs fans were excited to hear this news about Bieniemy, as the Matt Nagy experience was one to forget. On Wednesday, Bieniemy spoke with the Kansas City media and discussed a variety of topics, including taking over the job.
Bieniemy told reporters that he’s grown and learned a lot, which should help him in his return to the team. However, he made it clear that there will be a standard that is expected of all players (h/t Chiefs Senior Team Reporter Matt McMullen).
"I'll say this, there's some things about me that have changed. But, more than anything, EB is EB. We will still be disciplined and detailed in everything and how we handle our business. There is a standard of performance. There is a standard of excellence that will be expected. But on top of that, there has been a great deal of wealth that I've learned, through the good and through the bad. The thing that I appreciate its just helped me to grow into this role, and have this opportunity to be in this situation again."Eric Bieniemy via Matt McMullen
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Biemiemy's approach is necessary for the Chiefs to get back to the top of the NFL mountain. It’s unacceptable for this team and all its talent not be in the playoffs and for the offense to be playing below its standards. If anything, Bieniemy’s comments are a breath of fresh air and should put everyone on notice that 2025 was unacceptable.
We heard Patrick Mahomes say earlier this month that he wanted an offensive coordinator who “loves football,” “cares about football,” holds people accountable, and also brings new ideas to the table.
The Chiefs obviously heard his plea and felt that Bieniemy was the perfect description of what the superstar quarterback wants.
Now we know that there’s always some hesitation among fans about when teams run it back or go the retread route. However, Chiefs fans shouldn’t be worried about Bieniemy this go-around.
After he left Kansas City following the 2022 season, Bieniemy became offensive coordinator of the Washington Commanders. That only lasted one season, though, before the Commanders hired Dan Quinn as head coach, who made changes to both sides of the ball.
Bieniemy then went the college route, becoming the offensive coordinator and associate head coach for UCLA in 2024. The 2024 campaign also didn’t go well for Bieniemy and the Bruins, which led him back to the NFL with the Bears.
Over the last few years, he’s picked up valuable information and experience with three different teams/organizations that should help him going into next season. If the Chiefs’ offense can look like the unit we’ve seen in Bieniemy’s first stint in 2026, the rest of the league should be scared.