"Oh s***. I can't be the one getting mother-f***ed today."
Nobody likes being made the fool, but at this point, that's exactly what the Kansas City Chiefs have needed now, and for a few years. And Travis Kelce drove the point home when talking about why he's so excited about Eric Bieniemy being back with the team, again.
On the latest episode of he and Jason Kelce's "New Heights" show, the brothers welcomed in the greatest quarterback of all-time in Tom Brady, and part of the conversation centered around the style of coaching that both Brady and Bienemy were accustomed to.
With Brady being the type to call out his teammates and demand the absolute best from them, Travis related in a way that made Chiefs fans equally as excited to have Bieniemy back in the building. It's a coaching style and aura that simply hasn't made itself known since Bieniemy left the team after the 2022 season.
Travis Kelce knows just how much Eric Bieniemy's return means to the Chiefs
"That's why I love having my guy Eric Beiniemy back in the building man," Kelce said. "Because guys are getting mother-f***ed all over the field, man. And then all of the sudden you get a little more sense of urgency going, and you're a little more focused."
For those just catching up, Kelce is alluding to the fact that players are getting reamed out and called out all over the field with Bieniemy back. There's a new level of intensity some Chiefs players weren't around for back when he was with the team during his first stint in Kansas City.
If you're a fan of pretty much any other team, you might not get it. You might wonder what's wrong with the Chiefs winning a Super Bowl, losing a Super Bowl and then missing the playoffs over the course of three seasons without Bieniemy. That's a 3-year stretch that any other team would happily take.
And, while appearing in two and winning one Super Bowl even without Bieniemy is a great accomplishment on paper, it goes beyond what you can see at the surface level. Unless you had been closely watching this team without Bieniemy, you wouldn't quite get it.
There was this feeling of "something's missing."
This is not a knock on any of the coaching staff, whatsoever, especially Andy Reid. This is about what Bieniemy brought to the table to help elevate everybody else in the building.
One can't help but wonder if last year's abysmal rushing attack would have somehow turned out to be a top-10 unit with Bieniemy at the helm. Yes, even with the ghost of Kareem Hunt and an inept Isiah Pacheco.
Bieniemy is just that good. He is just that intense, focused and demanding of his players.
Is it any wonder you saw a grit, toughness and complete and total attitude change with the Chicago Bears last year? Credit to Ben Johnson and the other staff, of course, but Chiefs fans know how big of a role Bieniemy had to have played there.
The Chiefs have been missing that toughness, that grit and the extra focus ever since he left this organization.
Kelce and Brady are two who happen to embrace that coaching style. Getting brutally called out in front of your teammates, in the middle of practice, is an experience that the real pros are able to embrace. It's an art form for the coach and a few-second crash course in focus for the athlete.
In short: it's necessary.
This Chiefs team has been missing its edge. Fans had grown used to this team going out and doing whatever they wanted to their opponent on any given Sunday, and that was lost the second Bieniemy walked out the door.
But, he's back, and Kelce knows just how vital he is to the team's success.
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