Adam Schefter and Pete Thamel are reporting that Eric Bieniemy is finalizing a deal to become UCLA’s offensive coordinator and associate head coach.
Bieniemy is most well-known for his five-year stint as the Kansas City Chiefs’ offensive coordinator where he orchestrated one of the top offenses in the league. He worked with QB Patrick Mahomes and the high-flying Chiefs offense and helped bring two Super Bowl championships to Kansas City.
It seems like every year he is a name that floats around to become a head coach and he has taken several interviews for that position around the league. He never landed that gig and left the Chiefs after the 2022 season to join the Washington Commanders as an assistant head coach and offensive coordinator. Ron Rivera was fired as the head coach in Washington and Bieniemy reportedly interviewed for that vacancy, but they landed on Dan Quinn.
His offenses in Kansas City led the league in scoring with 30.1 points per game and 406.2 total yards of offense per game during his tenure. It has always been puzzling why he hasn’t received an opportunity as a head coach given his resume and proximity to such notable talent. He also worked under Andy Reid who has a pretty extensive coaching tree in the league.
Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin commented on Bieniemy failing to get an NFL head coaching job in 2021:
“Every offensive coordinator Andy Reid has had in the last 20 years got a head job. One of those guys, Brad Childress, hired me in Minnesota in 2006. Now, Andy has the best offense he’s ever had and he can’t get a job?”
He once again received interest around the NFL as an offensive coordinator this offseason, but either did not get the job offer or had already made up his mind on returning to UCLA. At least one NFL analyst actually named him as somebody that the Steelers should have considered bringing in with the vacancy created by the mid-season firing of Matt Canada.
This is a return to UCLA as he spent three seasons there from 2003 to 2005 as the running backs coach and recruiting coordinator. UCLA recently hired DeShaun Foster as their head coach in February after he spent seven years as the RB coach. Bieniemy’s title as an associate head coach will help Foster ease into his role as a first-time head coach.
