The predictions were already being made the moment the Chicago Bears' season officially ended at the hands of the Los Angeles Rams in the divisional round: Eric Bieniemy was a candidate to return to the Kansas City Chiefs. Now, reports are further confirming those feelings in what feels like an inevitable reunion.
Dianna Russini of The Athletic weighed in on Monday morning, saying that the runway is clear for Bieniemy to land with the Chiefs in his former spot as offensive coordinator after three years away from Kansas City. Adam Schefter then posted that the Chiefs had officially requested permission to interview him.
Bieniemy has served as the Bears running backs coach for the last year, and the results speak for themselves. D'Andre Swit and Kyle Monangai. Swift went for over 1,000 yards and Monangai added more than 700 for the Bears, whose ground game ranked No. 3 overall in yards gained and yards per attempt.
A reunion with Eric Bieniemy feels inevitable at this point for the Kansas City Chiefs.
The Chiefs employed Bieniemy for a full decade from 2013 to 2022. For the first five seasons, he was the team's running backs coach, hired by Andy Reid when he was first installed as head coach. After Matt Nagy left to take the head coaching role with the Chicago Bears in 2018, Bieniemy was promoted to offensive coordinator and served there for the next five seasons.
Bieniemy sought his own head coaching role for years while helping to lead the Chiefs' league-leading offense, but despite myriad interviews with approximately half of all NFL franchises, he was passed over again and again. A lateral move to help his chances to the Washington Commanders in 2023 imploded in Ron Rivera's final season, and Bieniemy was left to pick up the pieces with a shift to the college ranks as UCLA's associate head coach in 2024.
Ben Johnson came calling with a chance to return to the NFL in 2025 with the Bears, and as part of a resurgent Bears' team that came very close to making the NFC championship, Bieniemy's stock is now apparently on the rise.
The timing is good for him to return to K.C. given that Nagy's contract with the team is up. After three years as offensive coordinator, Nagy has interviewed with four franchises for the opportunity to become a head coach once again. He's a favorite for the Tennessee Titans gig, which opens up a spot on an offensive staff that has undergone some changes already. The Chiefs have parted ways with running backs coach Todd Pinkston and wide receivers coach Connor Embree in the first few weeks of the offseason.
With a decade next to Reid, Bieniemy is an obvious choice for a frictionless return while bringing some fresh perspective to an offense that felt stale in 2025 at pivotal moments.