Eric Bieniemy is the new offensive coordinator and assistant head coach for the Washington Commanders, the team announced Saturday.
He comes to the District after spending 10 previous seasons with the Kansas City Chiefs — first as a running back coach and then becoming the team’s offensive coordinator in 2018.
Bieniemy worked alongside head coach Andy Reid and two-time MVP quarterback Patrick Mahomes to orchestrate one of the NFL’s best offenses and two Super Bowl titles in the past four years.
As a result of the Chiefs’ success, he had interviewed for a number of head coaching jobs in the league, but didn’t get hired for any of them. Bieniemy’s name has been mentioned as one of the top Black assistant coaches to be passed over for lesser qualified coaches.
Now, he will have to fix a Commanders offense that ranked 24th in points scored and 20th in yards gained from scrimmage. Also, he’ll go from coaching Mahomes to coaching Sam Howell, who will get an opportunity to be the team’s starting QB, according to head coach Ron Rivera.
Luckily, Bieniemy will have some talented offensive skill position players such as wide receivers Terry McLaurin, running backs Brian Robinson Jr. and Antonio Gibson.
Previously, he was the running backs coach for the University of Colorado, UCLA and Minnesota Vikings. Also, Bieniemy played nine seasons in the NFL with the San Diego Chargers, Cincinnati Bengals and the Philadelphia Eagles — where he played one season under Andy Reid.
The Commanders were one of 13 teams that need a new offensive coordinator after they fired Scott Turner following an underwhelming 2022 season.
