Former Chiefs offensive coordinator Eric Bieniemy tells all in an exclusive interview on when he decided he wanted out of Kansas City.
The Kansas City Chiefs saw Eric Bieniemy leave for a change of scenery earlier this offseason, accepting a job as offensive coordinator and assistant head coach of the Washington Commanders.
It’s a move that was a long time coming for an esteemed OC like Eric Bieniemy who has helped the Chiefs win two Super Bowls during his tenure in Kansas City. Bieniemy finally gets his multi-year deal plus a new offense, one that’s less dangerous without a quarterback like Patrick Mahomes but one that Bieniemy gets to mold nonetheless. No more of Andy Reid’s corndog plays in this town.
The former Chiefs offensive coordinator recently spoke to ESPN’s Adam Schefter about leaving the Chiefs and said that he knew early on that the 2022 season would be his final one in Kansas City.
Bieniemy told Schefter:
“Me and Coach [Reid], we’ve talked about this for years…. Winning that last game kind of put the icing on the cake, and it was an emotional moment. I’ve known for a while, but that was something between me and Coach.”
Schefter then makes a point to clarify that Bieniemy knew, going into the 2022 season, that this would be his last year in Kansas City. Bieniemy responds, “Yes.”
Eric Bieniemy wanted out of the Chiefs franchise at the beginning of the 2022 season
Though Bieniemy’s move to Washington is a lateral one, the respected assistant will get to call the shots on his own offense and free himself of the curse that took ahold of him in Kansas City.
Other people have gotten head coaching offers for much, much less than Bieniemy, and getting passed over for head coaching gigs year after year was stalling Bieniemy’s career. He and Andy Reid have always been on good terms, but they definitely haven’t been on equal terms — this current Kansas City Chiefs dynasty is the brainchild of Andy Reid no matter how much praise Reid has heaped on Bieniemy in the past.
Bieniemy’s interview with Adam Schefter reveals what most already know: he was tired of staying in the same stagnant position in Kansas City and wanted a change. For him, winning the Super Bowl against the Philadelphia Eagles was just icing on the cake as it seems like Bieniemy was still planning to leave this offseason regardless of whether the Chiefs won the championship.
At long last, having stepped out of Andy Reid’s shadow, Bieniemy now turns to the next hopeful chapter of his coaching career. Chiefs fans ought to be grateful to him for sticking around for so long, and with two Super Bowl wins on his resume, Bieniemy can’t complain too much about his time in Kansas City, either.
