As expected, the Kansas City Chiefs intend to bring back Eric Bieniemy. The team's offense has regressed since their offensive coordinator left town, and a reunion just made too much sense for all parties involved.
While he may not be the new face Patrick Mahomes hoped for, he can certainly bring some fresh ideas after his past stops in the league. That's especially the case after getting a look at Ben Johnson's never-ending bag of tricks and playbook. However, as much as his return is good news for the Chiefs' offense, it won't be the case for several players. That includes Marquise 'Hollywood' Brown.
Eric Bieniemy Won't Want Anything to Do with Hollywood Brown
Eric Bieniemy is known for two things: Developing running backs and keeping everybody on a short leash. He's going to tell it as he sees it, feelings be damned. He's not going to tolerate anything but top-notch effort, and that spells trouble for Brown.
The former Baltimore Ravens wideout has drawn criticism for running lazy routes, giving up on plays, and not stepping up when the team needed him the most. That's not going to cut it with a guy who demands his players to leave it all on the field.
Brown was already a long shot to return next season, given his underwhelming production. Despite being the only healthy wide receiver the team had early in the season, he never reached 100 receiving yards in a single game. His season-high (99) came in Week 1, and he needed 16 targets and ten catches to do so.
He arrived in Kansas City with the label of being a big-play specialist, potentially to give Patrick Mahomes the downfield threat he lost when Tyreek Hill left. Instead, Brown averaged 12.0 yards per reception.
The former Arizona Cardinal finished the campaign with 49 catches on 74 targets for 587 yards and five touchdowns. The five scores are solid, but not so much when you realize that he played the third-most snaps on the team (551).
The Chiefs won't have a lot of money available to spend in free agency. As such, they will have to be extremely careful with every single penny they spend. With Bieniemy back in town and his military-style regime in place again, the Chiefs need to bring players with a high motor, and it has become painfully evident that that's not the case with Hollywood Brown.