Eric Bieniemy Hired as Commanders’ New Offensive Coordinator
The Kansas City Chiefs' Super Bowl LVII victory is still looming large as the highlight of the week, but something else is quickly becoming a significant development as well. Less than three days after celebrating the big-game win with the Chiefs at their downtown parade, Eric Bieniemy is reportedly departing to become the new offensive coordinator and assistant head coach of the Washington Commanders. Tom Pelissero of NFL Network first had the news.
Once Bieniemy lost out on the Indianapolis Colts head coaching job — one of many attempts at landing a lead gig that he's fallen short of in recent years — the focus shifted to other opportunities to become an offensive coordinator. Bieniemy reportedly had dinner with Washington head coach Ron Rivera on Wednesday night and spent all of Thursday with members of the team brass. Reports from Thursday were positive and indicated that things were moving in the right direction, setting the table for more progress.
On Friday morning, Albert Breer of The Monday Morning Quarterback reported that Rivera and Chiefs head coach Andy Reid had been in touch and added that "staffing and contract" were being covered in continued meetings between Bieniemy and the Commanders. Ian Rapoport of NFL Network confirmed that, citing that the move should be finalized same-day. Rapoport also notes that with Bieniemy moving on from Kansas City, senior assistant and quarterbacks coach Matt Nagy is the "top choice" to become the Chiefs' offensive coordinator for the 2023 season.
Under Bieniemy, the Chiefs' offenses ranked first in the NFL in total yards of offense three times and paced the league in scoring twice. The team has done no worse than win 12 games and host the AFC Championship Game since he's taken over as offensive coordinator, which is a testament to the continuity and contribution he provided. Reid and quarterback Patrick Mahomes have consistently vouched for him as an obvious candidate for a head coaching job in recent years, but now the 53-year-old will be tasked with installing his own system in Washington as a coordinator and hoping that it elevates his resume to new heights.
As far as Nagy is concerned, he has prior experience as Kansas City's offensive coordinator. Back in 2017, Alex Smith's final season as the team's starting quarterback, Nagy worked with Reid to engineer a playoff-bound offense that ultimately lost to the Tennessee Titans in the Wild Card round of the playoffs. Smith had the best year of his career in 2017, which helped play a role in Nagy becoming the eventual head coach of the Chicago Bears. In four seasons in Chicago, Nagy posted a 34-31 record with a pair of trips to the postseason. Now, he's potentially set to wear the same shoes Bieniemy has since 2018.
