The Kansas City Chiefs have been the most explosive offense in the NFL under Eric Bieniemy as offensive coordinator since 2018, leading the league in scoring and total offense. However, the latest report on his coaching future isn’t about a head coaching job, but rather the Washington Commanders’ offensive coaching vacancy, a lateral move. Washington has asked to interview Bieniemy and has “strong interest” in him becoming its next offensive coordinator, according to NFL average. Bieniemy is in the last year of his contract with Kansas City.
Under Bieniemy (as of 2018), the Chiefs either lead the NFL or are in second place in most crucial offensive categories.
Chiefs offense under OC Eric Bieniemy
PPG extension
29.2
1st
Total YPG
413.6
1st
Construction sites/Game
6.4
1st
3rd Down Pct
48.7%
2nd
Red Zone TD Pct
69.4%
2nd
* Since 2018
During Bieniemy’s tenure as offensive coordinator, the Chiefs have 60 games with 25 or more points since 2018 — the most in the NFL — and no other team has 50 games like that. Kansas City also has only six games with fewer than 20 points since 2018 — the fewest in the NFL — and all 31 other NFL teams have at least 19 or more such games in that span.
Unsurprisingly, two of the Chiefs’ previous three offensive coordinators before Bieniemy were hired as head coaches: Doug Pederson and Matt Nagy. Pederson was hired as the head coach of the Philadelphia Eagles in 2016 and went 42-37-1 in five seasons, and won Super Bowl LII over the New England Patriots for the franchise’s only Super Bowl win. He has also since received a second head coaching job, going 9-8 with the Jacksonville Jaguars this season, leading them to their first playoff win since the 2017 season. His inaugural season with the Jaguars ended in a playoff loss of the divisional round against the Chiefs and Bienemy.
Nagy was hired as the head coach of the Chicago Bears in 2018 and went 34-31 in four seasons with the team, and won the 2018 NFL Coach of the Year award leading them to an NFC North title. Nagy has since returned to the Chiefs’ coaching staff as a senior assistant and quarterbacks coach.
Before Kansas City’s Super Bowl LIV victory against the San Francisco 49ers that concluded the 2019 NFL season, Chiefs head coach Andy Reid expressed confusion about why his current offensive coordinator didn’t get the same opportunity to coach who both Pederson and Nagy received.
“His role is the same as Doug and Matt,” Reid said in January 2020, via Sports Illustrated. “He IS the coordinator, he manages the meetings.”
That quote flies in the face of the perceived slight that Bieniemy isn’t the full-time offensive caller, sometimes splitting those duties with Reid. However, Reid has decided to allow Bieniemy to call the Chiefs’ offense for long stretches, as evidenced by the video below.
Bieniemy has actually had a more productive offense with the Chiefs than Pederson or Nagy during their previous stints as the team’s offensive coordinator.
Bieniemy, Nagy and Pederson as the Chiefs offensive coordinator
PPG extension
29.2
25.9
24.8
Total YPG
413.6
375.4
329.1
TD/Game
3.6
2.6
2.9
Patrick Mahomes leads the NFL with 192 passing touchdowns under Bieniemy since 2018, when the latter became the offensive coordinator and the former became the team’s starting quarterback. Mahomes won the NFL MVP in 2018 and will likely win the 2022 NFL MVP as he is the 2022 first-team All-Pro quarterback.
Mahomes since 2018
wl
63-16
1st
Pass YPG
303.3
1st
Pass TD
192
1st
Evaluation of the passerby
106.0
2nd
* Among 60 QBs with more than 10 starts
Bieniemy has 15 seasons of NFL coaching experience as the Minnesota Vikings running backs coach (2006-2010), the Chiefs running backs coach (2013-2017), and currently as the Chiefs’ offensive coordinator (2018-2022).
