McCourty Talks Pros, Cons of Chiefs’ Bieniemy Reunion

KANSAS CITY, Mo. – The Chiefs’ offense has walked on the wild side too often over the last three years, especially getting into trouble in 2025. Now, it’s time for the dreaded meeting.

“You come back and Dad's back in town,” Super Bowl champion Jason McCourty said Thursday afternoon on NFL Live, “and the discipline is back with the kids at home.”

“Eric Bieniemy, he comes back and the discipline with which he coaches, with the passion with which he coaches, he is going to be re-introduced to this offense. It's probably going to be a little bit more accountability.”

Accountability wasn't the Chiefs' issue

Accountability wasn’t what the offense lacked in 2025. Patrick Mahomes and Travis Kelce were the first to raise their hands and accept blame for a unit that slipped dramatically, even when some of the issues weren’t attributed to them.

What the Chiefs lacked offensively in 2025 was discipline. Holding, false starts and illegal-formation penalties were up, handcuffing the offense with every piece of laundry. Running backs too many times lacked vision and patience and Mahomes and his receivers were off target on multiple occasions.

taylo — Sep 14, 2025; Kansas City, Missouri, USA; Kansas City Chiefs offensive tackle Jawaan Taylor (74) gestures at the line of scrimmage against the Philadelphia Eagles during the game at GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Denny Medley-Imagn Images | Denny Medley-Imagn Images

Dropped passes were rampant, and too often receivers lacked the ability to separate from defenders. As a result, the offense endured its worst season with Mahomes as its starting quarterback, including fewest points per game (21.3), yards per game (320.6) and third-down conversion rate (37.4 percent).

Chiefs aren't expected to change schematically

But the Chiefs could’ve chosen a different route. Instead of delegating more of the offense to someone with fresh ideas from another system, the most predictable offense in the NFL, the one in Reid’s words that lost too much respect in 2025, still has Reid with 51 percent of control. Other than adding Bieniemy’s discipline, the offense hasn’t changed.

“When I first got the news,” McCourty said, “my initial reaction was that we always talked about their offense this past season, we said, ‘Well, they need an introduction to some new concepts and some outside-the-box ideas that we haven't seen around there.”

andy rei — Jan 4, 2026; Paradise, Nevada, USA; Kansas City Chiefs head coach Andy Reid observes warm ups before a game against the Las Vegas Raiders at Allegiant Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Stephen R. Sylvanie-Imagn Images | Stephen R. Sylvanie-Imagn Images

That’s the most obvious knock on the move to reunite Bieniemy with the Chiefs’ offense. But it’s important to note that since Bieniemy left the Chiefs in 2023 to call his own plays in Washington, he’s become a better coach.

Not only did he have that experience under Ron Rivera with the Commanders in 2023, he also coached a year as offensive coordinator at UCLA. And this past year, he got a front-row seat in learning Ben Johnson’s offense in Chicago.

swif — Jan 10, 2026; Chicago, IL, USA; Chicago Bears running back D'Andre Swift (4) runs runs after the catch as Green Bay Packers defensive end Kingsley Enagbare (55) defends during the second half of an NFC Wild Card Round game at Soldier Field. Mandatory Credit: Matt Marton-Imagn Images | Matt Marton-Imagn Images

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