After 16 seasons as an NFL assistant coach, Eric Bieniemy has accepted a position as an assistant coach at the college level.
When Bieniemy decided to accept the position of offensive coordinator and associate head coach at UCLA, he boiled some thoughts down to writing and emailed them to ESPN.com.
Among other things, he says he could have stayed with the commanders.
“I have no regrets with the Commanders,” Bieniemy wrote via ESPN.com. “Contrary to what some people think and what the media says, I was not fired. Actually, I just decided not to stay. I learned a lot and that’s always good.”
It is unclear whether he was offered the offensive coordinator position on Dan Quinn's staff or another job.
Bieniemy instead returns to the school where he previously worked as an assistant coach from 2003 to 2005. He then spent five years with the Vikings, two with Colorado as offensive coordinator, five with the Chiefs as running backs coach and five more with the Chiefs as offensive coordinator and one in Washington as offensive coordinator.
Bieniemy was a head coach candidate for several cycles but never received an offer to lead an NFL franchise.
“I have had countless conversations and interviews with many teams and have been applauded and praised,” Bieniemy wrote in his email. “I can't say why certain decisions were made or not, but that had nothing to do with it [do] with a lack of anything on my part.”
The challenge for Bieniemy going forward will be finding a way to stay relevant in potential NFL jobs. If that's even something he wants to do in 2025 or beyond.
With all of this, it's impossible to ignore the affinity some of Kansas City's players have for Bieniemy. After paying a surprise visit to the team the night before the AFC Championship, quarterback Patrick Mahomes said he got “goosebumps” when Bieniemy spoke to them.
Any coach who can elicit that kind of organic response from the best player in the NFL today and one of the top two or three quarterbacks of all time has significant potential value to a football team. It will be interesting to see what he can do at UCLA.