Eric Bieniemy is officially back with the Kansas City Chiefs, and he says it all started with a phone call from head coach Andy Reid.
Bieniemy explained during his introductory news conference that Reid reached out the day after the Chicago Bears were eliminated in the NFL divisional round. Bieniemy had been serving as Chicago’s running backs coach, but Reid had already targeted him as his top candidate to return as Kansas City’s offensive coordinator — a role Bieniemy previously held from 2018 to 2022.
Less than a week later, Bieniemy was back inside the Chiefs’ facility, settling into his former office and immediately diving into roster evaluations and last season’s offensive film.
“It was an opportunity to come home,” Bieniemy said. “Whenever Big Red picks up the phone, that’s the only person you’ll say, ‘Hey, you know what? It may be time to return home because he’s giving me this opportunity.’ Having this opportunity to come back, that was just something that is tough to pass up on.”
Eric Bieniemy Says Returning to Chiefs Feels Like Coming Home
After Kansas City made his return official last week, Bieniemy expanded on the move during an appearance on the Chiefs’ YouTube show “Defending the Kingdom” with team broadcaster Mitch Holthus and senior reporter Matt McMullen.
“It’s great being back,” Bieniemy said. “Just being in an element where I was here for 10 years, my family has called this place home, and now we have an opportunity to reunite and get with some good people that you miss.”
He added that reconnecting with familiar faces has been especially meaningful.
“To reunite with friends and family members, that has been a great aspect of this,” Bieniemy continued. “In this profession, we spend more time with coaches than our own families, so these guys have been a part of my family for a number of years… now we’re back reunited.”
Bieniemy Details What He Wants From Chiefs Offense
As Bieniemy begins shaping Kansas City’s offense again, he outlined exactly what he expects from his running backs and offensive unit.
“You want guys that are smart enough that can handle the capacity of what we’re going to put onto them as far as the game planning,” Bieniemy said. “On top of that, they have to have the intestinal fortitude to pick up a blitz any chance that we have because our quarterback is going to drop back and throw it a lot.”
That quarterback, Patrick Mahomes, is currently rehabbing a serious knee injury.
Bieniemy also stressed physicality and versatility.
“We also need guys that can run between the tackles and create plays,” he said. “Not only with their legs, but also too, understanding ‘I have to run through somebody to make something happen.’ When it’s all said and done with, we also have to be creative enough to get those guys out of the backfield and create one-on-one matchups.”
Reflecting on his time in Chicago, Bieniemy emphasized the importance of winning in the trenches.
“One thing that has not changed: you still have to do it with the guys up front,” he said. “The only way you’re going to build success, those guys have to be the staple in what you do.”
Eric Bieniemy Shares ‘Finish’ Philosophy With Chiefs
Holthus and McMullen joked about hearing Bieniemy yell “finish” throughout training camp, a term he said remains central to his coaching approach.
“Guys need to learn how to finish,” Bieniemy said. “Everyone claims to be a great player.”
He illustrated that mindset with a story from his playing days against the San Francisco 49ers, when he watched Jerry Rice repeatedly complete plays through the end zone during practice.
“That’s when it hit me,” Bieniemy recalled. “It was one of those moments when you realize ‘wow, this isn’t by chance that you see Jerry Rice making all these great plays on Sunday.’ He learned how to make second effort a habit.”
“There are a lot of great players in this league, but there are not a lot of great finishers,” Bieniemy added. “So you teach guys, they have to learn how to finish the process… You have to rehearse what you’re going to do in practice so you can put it on display come game day.”
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