Chiefs Make First Move Toward Hiring New Offensive Coordinator

The Rams’ dramatic 20-17 win at Chicago in the NFC divisional playoffs not only ended the Bears’ season, it also freed up Bears assistant coaches for interview requests.

And the first request to land in Ben Johnson’s inbox, according to Adam Schefter, is from Reid. The Chiefs’ head coach wants to talk to his former Kansas City offensive coordinator, Eric Bieniemy.

Since leaving Kansas City

Now the Bears’ running backs coach, Bieniemy was one of Reid’s first hires on his original staff in 2013. After five seasons as Chiefs running backs coach (2013-17), Bieniemy served five more years as offensive coordinator (2018-22). Reid promoted him after Matt Nagy left for a four-year stint as head coach of the Bears.

Bieniemy left the Chiefs in 2023 for a more autonomous role, including play-calling responsibility, serving as Washington’s assistant head coach and offensive coordinator. When the Commanders fired Ron Rivera after Bieniemy’s only season there, Bieniemy spent the 2024 season back on the college level in a similar role at UCLA.

Chicago's backfield excelled in 2025

Johnson brought him back to the NFL a year ago. Bieniemy not only familiarized himself with Johnson’s prolific offensive playbook while in Chicago, he also helped D’Andre Swift to the best season of his six-year NFL career.

Swift averaged 4.9 yards per carry, including career highs in rushing touchdowns (nine) and ground yards (1,087).

Chiefs were much better with Bieniemy on staff

The Chiefs were clearly a better offense with Bieniemy on staff prior to his departure for Washington in 2023. Over the last three seasons (2023-25), the Chiefs have averaged 348.3 net offensive yards per game, 18th in the NFL over that span.

With Bieniemy as offensive coordinator from 2018-22, Kansas City ranked first with 416.5 net yards per game.

With Nagy as Kansas City offensive coordinator from 2023-25, Patrick Mahomes posted a 92.0 passer rating, 21st in the NFL over that span. With Bieniemy in that role from 2018-22, Mahomes was first in the league with a 106.0 mark.

Nagy, meanwhile, wasn’t expected to return to the Chiefs and Monday’s request to interview Bieniemy adds credence to that.

The 2018 NFL Coach of the Year, Nagy interviewed with four teams with head-coach vacancies this month. He’s scheduled for a second head-coach interview with the Titans this week.

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