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The Kansas City Chiefs have some of the best coaches in the league working schemes and helping players reach their full potential heading into Super Bowl LVIII – the team's fourth appearance in the last five seasons.
But one former coordinator was reportedly brought in to spark the team's offense ahead of their AFC Championship Game against the Baltimore Ravens.
Head coach Andy Reid and quarterback Patrick Mahomes talked about Eric Bieniemy, who was with the Washington Commanders last season as their offensive coordinator before being fired, helping the Chiefs' offense.
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Washington Commanders assistant head coach/offensive coordinator Eric Bieniemy gestures during minicamp at OrthoVirginia Training Center at Commanders Park in Ashburn, Virginia, June 8, 2023. (Geoff Burke-USA Today Sports)
"Came in, talked to our team before our last game. He talked with the offensive guys and hung out with us in our meetings," Reid told media members ahead of Super Bowl LVIII. "So I have had a chance to talk to him. He’s still up for a couple of jobs."
Mahomes said "chill bumps" came about when Bieniemy was in the room with the group.
"It's always great to have EB in the building," he explained. "Just being there, the energy that he brings, the mentality that he brings, you can feel. He has that intensity, but you love it. He loves being there. He loves being a part of the team and being a part of that culture. So having him back in the building was really cool.
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Listening to him talk and his energy just got everybody — you can ask guys — but I think guys had a little bit of chill bumps."
Bieniemy didn’t just have a short stint in Kansas City. Reid clearly trusts the man that came to the Chiefs in 2013 as the running backs coach and worked his way up the ladder to offensive coordinator in 2018.
Mahomes was in his second year as a Chief, but it was his first season as the team’s starter. He’d go on to throw for over 5,000 yards and lead the league with 50 passing touchdowns on his way to his first league MVP award.
Chiefs offensive coordinator Eric Bieniemy talks with head coach Andy Reid prior to the AFC Divisional Playoff game against the Jacksonville Jaguars at Arrowhead Stadium on Jan. 21, 2023, in Kansas City, Missouri. (David Eulitt/Getty Images)
Bieniemy is lauded for his offensive mind, and another Chiefs player believes he may have taken it for granted.
"I had a long conversation with Marquez Valdes-Scantling about Bieniemy and he told me, ‘Last year, there are maybe times you kinda tune him out a little bit. All the yelling, he yells at everybody, from Andy Reid down to the janitor. But when he was back in that room that night, I kinda got the feeling that I missed it and took it maybe for granted,’" NFL Network's James Palmer reported.
Why is this meeting relevant? Well, the Commanders cleaned house this offseason following Ron Rivera's departure as head coach before the 2023 campaign came to an end.
Bieniemy was one of those coaches, as the Commanders brought in Kliff Kingsbury as the new offensive coordinator under head coach Dan Quinn, who noted Bieniemy not being retained.
Matt Nagy, the current Chiefs offensive coordinator, held the position before Bieniemy took over after he accepted the head coaching post with the Chicago Bears.
Offensive coordinator Eric Bieniemy of the Washington Commanders reacts during training camp on July 28, 2022 in Ashburn, Virginia. (Scott Taetsch/Getty Images)
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Nagy left but returned. Perhaps Bieniemy, now an experienced coordinator on the open market, could return to the Chiefs as well next season.
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