Commanders hire Chiefs assistant Eric Bieniemy as new OC
Bieniemy spent the past 10 seasons in Kansas City, five as offensive coordinator
Eric Bieniemy has agreed to a deal to leave the Kansas City Chiefs to become the offensive coordinator of the Washington Commanders, the team announced Saturday.
Welcome, Eric!
Two-time Super Bowl winning coordinator Eric Bieniemy is our new assistant head coach/OC
📰https://t.co/CSFjuISHxb pic.twitter.com/HK4gZezYHr— Washington Commanders (@Commanders) February 18, 2023
The new role comes with the additional title of assistant head coach, a pay raise and a multi-year contract. Bieniemy will replace Scott Turner, who was fired at the end of the season.
Bieniemy spent the past five seasons as the Chiefs' offensive coordinator, where he helped Patrick Mahomes blossom into a two-time MVP and five-time Pro Bowler. He also helped guide Kansas City to three Super Bowl appearances and two victories, most recently a 38-35 win over the Philadelphia Eagles.
Despite his success, Bieniemy wasn't hired to be a head coach even after his two Chiefs predecessors — Doug Pederson and Matt Nagy — both earned top jobs following their respective tenures under Andy Reid. Bieniemy has interviewed with half of the leagues' clubs since 2019, including a 2023 interview with the Indianapolis Colts. But every time, he was passed over.
This comes even after his offense went toe-to-toe with the offense led by newly hired Colts head coach Shane Steichen and flummoxed the defense led by now-Arizona Cardinals head coach Jonathan Gannon — both in Super Bowl LVII. Though much has been speculated about Bieniemy's role in Reid's offense — both as a play-caller and as a strategist — Chiefs backup quarterback Chad Henne told The Athletic it was Bieniemy who designed the two second-half red-zone touchdowns that helped Kansas City come back to beat the Eagles.
“[Bieniemy] put it on tape and said: ‘Hey, like, if they do this, this guy is wide open. It’s man [coverage],’” Henne said. “They’re just trying to protect themselves from the jet sweep and trying to bubble over the top and get an extra player [on the other side of the field]. But we faked the jet twice, and they didn’t figure it out.”
Mahomes also added that Bieniemy made sure running back Jerick McKinnon went down in-bounds instead of scoring late in the game to set up Harrison Butker's winning field goal.
“I want to give the credit to Eric Bieniemy,” Mahomes said, “because even though sometimes we get tired of them talking about those moments, they always seem to happen in the biggest games. And he makes sure we go through the details about them every single week.”
Now, Bieniemy will likely take full control of the Commanders' offense under head coach Ron Rivera, who has a background in defense. Washington isn't loaded with talent on offense, but receivers Terry McLaurin, Jahan Dotson and Curtis Samuel, as well as running backs Brian Robinson and Antonio Gibson, are all intriguing playmakers.
The quarterback position will be the most important question to answer, though. Sam Howell, the team's 2022 fifth-round pick, could earn the starting job, but the Commanders could also acquire a more proven veteran this offseason in free agency or via a trade.
Bieniemy's fingerprints will likely be all over whatever Washington does in 2023, which could perhaps reshape the narrative around his viability as an NFL head coach sooner rather than later.
