Eric Bieniemy bet on himself in 2023, leaving the comforting nest of Kansas City in pursuit of an NFL head coaching job.
Unfortunately for him, Bieniemy also bet on the most dysfunctional organization in American professional sports, and so he found himself looking for work after Ron Rivera's postseason firing.
Bieniemy was a candidate for the Seattle offensive coordinator job that ultimately went to Washington-turned-Alabama offensive coordinator Ryan Grubb, and so Pro Football Talk reported Sunday that he would be in line to return to Kansas City.
An original member of Andy Reid's staff, Bieniemy joined as running backs coach and was promoted to offensive coordinator in 2018. That timing coincided with Patrick Mahomes's ascension to KC's starting quarterback, which began a run of six straight trips (and counting) to the AFC Championship, along with four Super Bowls and, possibly, three rings.
With Matt Nagy expected to return as offensive coordinator, PFT reports Bieniemy would likely hold an assistant head coach title. In the event Reid retires after the game, Bieniemy would then be a candidate for head coach.
“I think Coach Bieniemy set that standard when he was here. And I think you could see those lingering effects of the other coaches who have coached underneath EB (Eric Bieniemy) and then coach Nagy. I mean, I coached with EB, been an offensive coordinator before, and QB coach last year. We hold each other accountable; the coaches hold us accountable," Mahomes said during the Chiefs' December struggles. "But obviously, we’ve made some mistakes that we don’t typically make, and we’re gonna try to correct those as quickly as possible.”
Bieniemy also visited the team ahead of the Chiefs' AFC Championship visit to Baltimore, which Mahomes said gave the players "chill bumps."
Clearly, Bieniemy's return would be embraced by the starting quarterback, which means it would be embraced by everyone in the organization.
As always, stay tuned to The Scoop for the latest.