Ben Johnson took a bit of a risk when he hired Eric Bieniemy in the first place.
Around the National Football League, it's common for a new head coach to simply call "his guys" when filling out the rest of his coaching staff, relying on the years of relational networks formed to ultimately construct the organizational tree underneath him. But Bieniemy was an outsider to Johnson, who was hired by the Chicago Bears as a first-time head coach one year ago. That required Johnson to roll the dice when officially adding his running backs coach.
As it turned out, one of Johnson's more uncertain coaching calls turned out to be one of his best. And now that Bieniemy has already departed to reunite with Andy Reid and the Kansas City Chiefs, Johnson says the void created is a significant one.
“We'll miss a ton. The guy's a phenomenal football coach," said Johnson, when asked about Bieniemy's departure at the 2026 NFL Combine. Johnson stepped up to the podium during Tuesday's media session to answer questions about the Bears' resurgent season.
The Detroit Lions head coach spoke glowingly of the Chiefs new offensive coordinator in his media session at the 2026 NFL Combine.
“You know, the coaching staff a year ago and really similar to this year, is that there are a lot of guys outside of my circle that I didn't know very well, so he was really [hired] through reputation. We had a lot of productive conversations before he decided to join on board," said Johnson.
The Bears would go on to win 11 games in Johnson's first season, with a revamped offense anchored by the third-ranked rushing attack in the NFL. Much of the success can be attributed to a remade offensive line (which included former Chiefs guard Joe Thuney), but Bieniemy also warranted plenty of credit for the on-field impact of such a cultural shift.
“Then I was just blown away from the impact he had not only in that position room—which, you know, [D’Andre] Swift had probably the best year of his career, and then seventh rounder, [Kyle] Monangai, had a hell of a year himself not just that room—but the entire offense, he brings a demanding presence. The standard is the standard with Eric Bieniemy, and those are big shoes to fill.”
Swift enjoyed a career year in his sixth NFL season with Bieniemy as his positional coach. He set new career marks in rushing yards (1,087) and rushing touchdowns (9), even as his overall workload (carries) were lower than they'd been since 2023. As for Monangai, the Bears' final draft choice logged 169 carries behind Swift and came away with a healthy 4.6 yard average with 783 rushing yards and 5 touchdowns.
Bieniemy replaced Matt Nagy as the Chiefs' offensive coordinator this offseason, part of a series of sweeping coaching changes on that side of the ball. Chad O'Shea was installed as the new wide receivers coach, and DeMarco Murray was hired as the running backs coach. The Chiefs are hoping that EB's return to the sidelines will instill a stronger sense of accountability and some new ideas acquired after three seasons away from the team.
The Bears are now turning to another Eric—Eric Studesville—at the position as they look to build on Johnson's first season of success. But hearing the Bears head coach speak so glowingly about Bieniemy's impact is heartening for Chiefs fans who are hoping for a rebound as well from a surprising six-win season.