Kansas City Chiefs name Eric Bieniemy as new offensive coordinator

The Kansas City Chiefs will reportedly hire from within as they seek to replace former offensive coordinator Matt Nagy, who was hired away by the Bears.

After five years waiting for his turn to be the next man up—er, next coach up—Kansas City Chiefs running backs coach Eric Bieniemy will be named the team’s offensive coordinator.

The Chiefs are looking for a new offensive coordinator after losing Matt Nagy, who filled the role over the last two years along with Brad Childress, to the Chicago Bears. The Bears hired away Nagy to be their new head coach, replacing John Fox after three seasons.

On Monday, Nagy was announced as Chicago’s new coach and on the same day, rumors also surfaced that Childress, the Chiefs assistant head coach and a longtime colleague of head coach Andy Reid’s, would also retire from the team. That meant two senior voices on the offensive side of the coaching staff were lost within the same day.

Bieniemy has been the team’s running backs coach since Andy Reid first arrived in 2013, working with stellar talents like Jamaal Charles as well as developing talent like Spencer Ware and Charcandrick West. He certainly deserves credit in getting rookie running back Kareem Hunt ready to start sooner than expected in a year where he won the rushing title.

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The knock against Bieniemy is that this will be his first real senior-level NFL position. He was previously the offensive coordinator at the University of Colorado for a couple seasons, but after five full years on Reid’s staff and serving alongside names like Nagy, Childress, Doug Pederson and more, Bieniemy should be ready at this point. Here’s hoping a new face brings a fresh perspective and that Bieniemy is the man for the job.