UCLA is undergoing a period of rapid change with their hiring of a young, player-friendly head coach DeShaun Foster in the context of a migration to the Big-10 conference.
The biggest addition to Foster's coaching staff, thus far, is former Washington Commanders assistant head coach / offensive coordinator and Super Bowl Winner Eric Bieniemy.
In Bieniemy's move from his most famous position as Patrick Mahomes' offensive coordinator to the Commanders, many media outlets reported that Bieniemy's influence in the success of the Chiefs' had been overstated.
Additionally, it's been reported that Bieniemy's coaching style, although refreshingly old-school, has rubbed some of his players the wrong way. In Sports Illustrated's Albert Breer's column, Breer peeled back the curtain on the forces that led to Bieniemy taking the role at UCLA.
"Eric Bieniemy’s decision to go to UCLA is a window into how the league sees him right now... But there were questions while he was there that surfaced again in his years as the Washington Commanders offensive coordinator... He never really changed the way he did things. He didn’t give special treatment to star players, and he was tough on everyone, both from an hours standpoint and in what he would ask of the people in the huddle. Bieniemy could also be a bit stubborn in how he copy and pasted Andy Reid’s offense (based to feature the tight end) in Washington."
So what does that mean for UCLA's offense in 2024? The most clear inference is how many more tight ends might be utilized in the 2024 Bruin offense. But one thing that nobody can predict is how the Bruin team will react to Bieniemy's reported coaching style.
An argument could be made that it might be a better fit for the college ranks, being able to mold players when they're more impressionable and pliable. In his previous role with the commanders, Bieniemy wasn't as keen on explaining the "why" behind his schemes/gameplans which, according to Breer "is something players now often want".
The younger you go in football coaching, the less important that "why" becomes, from a scheme standpoint. This straightforward "do your job and don't worry about anything else" approach resonates with some recruits, and might not with others. The next piece of the puzzle here is to bring in players who are willing to buy into the new culture Foster and Bieniemy (both former NFL running backs) are creating.
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