Eric Bieniemy’s Next NFL Stint Would Possibly Be With Andy Reid’s Chiefs: Chad Johnson Explains

After spending a season with UCLA as their OC, former NFL coach Eric Bieniemy has announced his exit from college football in a bid to return to the NFL. Considering his last stint with the Washington Commanders was a failure, it’s unlikely he will get a lot of suitors as he once did. But if Chad Johnson is to be believed, Eric is most likely to rejoin the Chiefs as their OC next year, replacing Matt Nagy.

“Eric and UCLA mutually parted ways today as previously planned… After interviewing for head coaching jobs last year, he wanted to stay active and busy. So, he decided to go help out Deshaun Foster, who is like his little brother, at UCLA as opposed to sitting out a year. The plan was always to return to the NFL in 2025,” said Eric’s agent.

In the latest episode of Nightcap, Ocho made it clear that Bieniemy isn’t being blackballed by the NFL. Instead, he expects Bieniemy to return to Kansas City to pick up where he left off in 2022.

Ocho reminded everyone that from 2018 to 2022, Bieniemy played a major role in shaping Patrick Mahomes into the quarterback he is today. The Chiefs may need those services again, as rumors are circulating that current Chiefs OC Matt Nagy could become a head coaching candidate this summer.

“I don’t think any NFL teams want to bring on Bieniemy right now. If there’s a team that’s going to bring him on, it would be the Kansas City Chiefs. Next year, Andy Reid and Eric Bieniemy and I’m sure Patrick Mahomes also gets well if that’s the case [of a reunion].”

Chad continued to share his gut feeling that Bieniemy would return to the Chiefs, asserting that in the coaching world, friends often go out of their way to help coaches from their circle (coaching tree) secure work.

“I am just being honest because you know how that coaching thing is: In general, the friends always continue to make sure each other have jobs always. So if Eric Bieniemy is going to get a job again in the NFL, it would probably be with the Chiefs.”

Nevertheless, the last time Eric coached an NFL offense was with the Commanders in 2023. While Washington finished 4-11 that year, their turnaround the following year under Kliff Kingsbury, with just one key personnel change, suggests that Eric is losing his touch.

Considering he couldn’t make much of an impact at UCLA either, the Chiefs would be taking a gamble by bringing Eric back. Still, his relationship with Patrick Mahomes and Andy Reid is hard to overlook. To be fair, it would be great to see the band back together, especially with Reid potentially in his final few years as an NFL head coach.