Eric Bieniemy is back in Kansas City - and if you’ve been around this team long enough, you know that means the familiar phrases are back too. The “grind.”
The “chopping wood.” The “good, the bad, the ugly and the indifferent.”
Classic E.B.
But this isn’t just a nostalgic reunion. It’s a calculated move by Andy Reid, who made it clear he wanted someone who knows the system, knows the building, and knows the expectations.
Bieniemy checks every box. He spent a decade in Kansas City, helping build one of the most potent offenses in football, and now returns after quick stints in Washington, UCLA, and Chicago.
Technically, he’s an “outside hire.” Realistically? He’s anything but.
And that’s what makes this such a fascinating development for the Chiefs. Bieniemy brings the benefit of institutional knowledge, but with a fresh set of eyes.
He’s not walking in to grade his own homework - he’s here to evaluate, challenge, and, if necessary, shake things up. According to Reid, that directness isn’t just for players.
It’s for coaches too.
“He’s going to be very direct with players,” Reid said earlier this week. Then he added the real kicker: “Very direct with coaches.”
That matters. Because this Chiefs offense, for all its underlying efficiency - top-10 in yards per drive, top-five in scoring percentage - didn’t pass the eye test in 2025.
It sputtered in key moments. It looked predictable.
And for the first time in the Patrick Mahomes era, it felt like defenses were a step ahead.
The accountability that Bieniemy brings isn’t just about holding players to a standard. It’s about holding the entire operation - scheme, play-calling, execution - under the microscope. And he’s not afraid to speak up when something’s off.
When asked how comfortable he is delivering that kind of feedback, Bieniemy didn’t hesitate: “That’s why we get paid. We’re coaches, right?”
Right. And the Chiefs have plenty of good ones.
This staff has guided the team to five Super Bowl appearances in the last seven seasons and walked away with three rings. That kind of success doesn’t happen by accident.
But it also doesn’t grant immunity from evolution.
The rest of the league has caught up - or at least caught on. Mahomes himself acknowledged earlier this month that defenses seem to know what’s coming.
And that’s not just a Mahomes problem or a receiver problem. It’s a system problem.
The first step to fixing that? Admitting it.
“Anybody can present an idea,” Bieniemy said. “But more importantly, we need to make sure first and foremost that we’re taking a look at anything that we need to continue to improve upon or continue working with - and make sure that we’re getting all the answers first with that. And then (we) figure out where do we need to go from there.”
That’s the kind of mindset that could spark real change. Not just tweaks.
Not just window dressing. Actual self-scouting and strategic adjustments.
And if there’s one area that screams for that kind of attention, it’s the run game.
Let’s be honest - the Chiefs’ ground attack hasn’t scared anyone in a while. The issues go beyond personnel, though that’s certainly part of it. But if we’re talking track record, Bieniemy has receipts.
He helped turn Damien Williams - an undrafted back - into a Super Bowl hero. He got 1,000 scrimmage yards out of Darrel Williams, another undrafted free agent.
He resurrected Jerick McKinnon’s career after two knee surgeries and turned him into one of the league’s most dangerous receiving threats out of the backfield. In 2022, McKinnon led all running backs in receiving touchdowns.
Even last season in Chicago, Bieniemy’s fingerprints were all over a run game that produced two 750-yard rushers - one a seventh-round rookie, the other a back who’d averaged just 3.8 yards per carry the year before. That’s coaching.
That’s scheme. That’s development.
And that’s exactly what Kansas City needs. Because if the Chiefs want to return to being the kind of offense that dictates terms - not just reacts - they’ve got to get more out of the run game. Not just for balance, but to open up the rest of the playbook.
Bieniemy’s return doesn’t mean the offense is getting overhauled. This is still Andy Reid’s system. But it does mean there’s a new (and familiar) voice in the room - one that isn’t afraid to challenge the status quo, ask tough questions, and demand better.
Before the Chiefs can innovate, they have to self-evaluate. And Bieniemy? He’s here to make sure they do just that.
Because sometimes, the best way forward starts with a reminder of what worked before - and a willingness to evolve from there.