The emotions raging across the NFL landscape about Eric Bieniemy’s new job as the Washington Commanders’ offensive coordinator are mixed.
On one hand, many were happy that Bieniemy will now have his chance to truly run his own squad on his own. That’s no slight to Andy Reid, as he’s been very vocal and clear about Bieniemy’s role and contributions to the Chiefs’ success.
On the other hand, it’s hard to celebrate as the move feels more like a lateral one, and that shouldn’t have to happen for someone with his type of resume.
Bieniemy began his coaching career in 2001 as the running backs coach at Colorado, where he became an All-American and still holds the all-time record for rushing yards (3.940) and TDs (42) for the Buffaloes. Two seasons later, he headed to UCLA in the same role.
After three seasons with the Bruins, Beiniemy made the leap to the NFL as the running backs coach for the Vikings. After five seasons in Minnesota, he moved to Kansas City as the Chiefs’ running backs coach from 2013 – 2017. During that time, he worked with stars such as Jamaal Charles and rookie Kareem Hunt. In 2018, Reid promoted him to offensive coordinator after Matt Nagy left to take the head coaching job in Chicago.
That year Kansas City drafted Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs’ ascent as an elite NFL began.
Since Mahomes’ arrival, the Chiefs have dominated offensively and won two Super Bowls. Mahomes has become a 2x Super Bowl winner, 2x Super Bowl MVP, 2x NFL MVP and, arguably, the best quarterback in the game today.
Yet many conveniently forget about Bieniemy as the stats, accolades, awards and titles pile up for the Chiefs. It’s like he’s the offensive coordinator in title only and contributes nothing to KC’s success. That’s a narrative Reid has personally dispelled many times.
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