Report: Eric Bieniemy set to return to Kansas City Chiefs as offensive coordinator

The Kansas City Chiefs are set to bring Eric Bieniemy back as offensive coordinator, NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero reported. The two sides agreed to terms on a deal Wednesday.

Bieniemy was previously on Kansas City’s staff from 2013-22, first as running backs coach before taking over for Matt Nagy as offensive coordinator from 2018-22. He then took the same role with the Washington Commanders in 2023 and ventured to the college level at UCLA in 2024.

This past season, Bieniemy served as the Chicago Bears’ running backs coach following his lone season at UCLA. Now, he’s preparing to return to Kansas City and again replace Nagy, whose contract was up. Nagy also interviewed for multiple head coaching vacancies.

During Bieniemy’s first stint as the Chiefs’ offensive coordinator, the franchise won two Super Bowls. He then joined the Commanders in 2023 as assistant head coach and OC, where he took on play-calling duties for the first time. But after Ron Rivera’s departure, Bieniemy pivoted to the college game at UCLA under first-year head coach DeShaun Foster. The Bruins went 5-7 and the offense ranked 117th in the nation.

Then, in 2025, Bieniemy returned to his roots as running backs coach under first-year Bears coach Ben Johnson. He worked closely with the two-headed monster of D’Andre Swift and Kyle Monangai in the Chicago backfield as the team ranked third in the NFL with 2,456 rushing yards.

After the Bears’ season ended Sunday with an overtime loss to the Los Angeles Rams, news broke that Kansas City was interested in bringing Eric Bieniemy back in the fold. Chiefs star Travis Kelce expressed full support for the move after they missed the playoffs in 2025.

“I think it’s great,” Kelce said to brother Jason on New Heights. “I think it’s a marriage (that’s) gonna pick up right where it left off. EB and who he is as a coach, you can see kind of his personality, what he brings to this table with that Chicago team. I know Ben Johnson has his own version of that. He’s a very tough guy. And what he did in Detroit, he brought over as well. And you can see those running backs over Chicago and their body of work was definitely an Eric Bieniemy style of football … 

“I can’t wait to see him back in the building. Man, he’s one of my favorite coaches of all time, one of my favorite people of all time. I’ve had so many unbelievable, you know, growing moments under him as a player, as a person. And I just love the guy, and it’s gonna be awesome to see him back in the building and see him back wearing the Chiefs logo, baby.”