Greg Lewis looks like a KC Chiefs assistant coach on the rise

The K.C. Chiefs were expected to deal with much greater coaching changes this offseason than they ended up having. Instead of finding a replacement for offensive coordinator Eric Bieniemy, who was rumored as a hot head coaching candidate once again, a team that has played in consecutive Super Bowls ended up returning every  coordinator and nearly all of their positional assistants. It sounds ridiculous, but that sort of continuity could mean a lot to the Chiefs long-term success.

Moving forward, however, the team did watch running backs coach Deland McCullough head back to the University of Indiana, where he once served as RBs coach, to take an assistant head coaching gig there at the collegiate level. In his absence, the Chiefs shifted some chairs around instead of bringing in a brand new hire into the spot, and that, according to head coach Andy Reid, was due to Greg Lewis‘s longing to become a more well-rounded coach.

On Monday, Reid met with reporters to answer questions about a number of topics, but one things he explained was the transition of Lewis from the team’s wide receivers coach to the running backs room.

“Greg actually came to me about wanting the challenge of coaching the running backs,” said Reid. “As you guys know how I feel about Greg, he’s very, very intelligent. He has a great feel for the game. He’s done a phenomenal job with the wide receivers, and now he’s able to learn that other side, the protections side and all that goes into coaching the running backs and the run game and still give ‘em tips in the pass game.”

Greg Lewis is another assistant coach to watch for the Chiefs.

Lewis was right at home in the wide receivers room after a productive eight-year as an NFL wideout himself. Six of those seasons came with the Philadelphia Eagles when Reid was his head coach, so it made sense that Lewis would want to learn even more on the sidelines from his former mentor. Lewis joined the Chiefs as wide receivers coach back in 2016, and now after four full years on Reid’s staff so far, he’s transitioned to the running backs room in order to further his own professional development.

In the bigger picture, it seems outlandish that Bieniemy will be long for Kansas City. A head coaching opportunity simply must surface next winter, which would start a domino effect. Mike Kafka is often believed to be the next offensive coordinator in training as the quarterbacks coach, and he was identified earlier this winter as an assistant coach on the rise. For the Philadelphia Eagles opening, Kafka was even considered a potential favorite for the job, along with Bieniemy.

But here’s where Lewis might be coming into view as well. Kafka and Lewis both started their stints with the Chiefs in the exact same offseason, and Bieniemy was himself the running backs coach before taking over the O.C. role from Matt Nagy, who left to become the head coach for the Chicago Bears. If Lewis can expand his understanding of the offense to greater depths and bring new ideas to the surface from multiple angles, he could be a potential name to watch as the Chiefs eventually replace Bieniemy.

At the very least, heading into 2021, the Chiefs are stacked with offensive minds who have been simmering on this staff for the last few years. There’s a shared language and chemistry that few teams in the NFL presently enjoy, and their championship experiences together should yield great results. And as changes are inevitably made due to personnel losses, the team also seems well-built to handle those in the next few years.