Andy Reid is reconnecting with the offensive coordinator who made his Kansas City Chiefs offense hum. The Chiefs have agreed to terms with Eric Bieniemy, the team officially announced Friday.

Bieniemy will reclaim his post as Kansas City’s OC, taking over for Matt Nagy.

Advertisement

Nagy, who was on an expiring Chiefs contract, was reportedly a finalist for the Tennessee Titans’ head-coach vacancy, although that was ultimately filled by Robert Saleh.

Coming off his three-year stint in Kansas City, Nagy interviewed for the Philadelphia Eagles’ offensive coordinator opening Wednesday, per NFL Network’s Mike Garafolo.

As for Bieniemy, he previously served as the Chiefs’ OC from 2018-22, helping two-time NFL MVP quarterback Patrick Mahomes win the first two of his three Super Bowls.

Bieniemy was part of Reid’s inaugural Chiefs staff in 2013, first working as the team’s running backs coach for five seasons before getting the promotion to OC.

Advertisement

Bieniemy coordinated Kansas City’s offense the first five seasons Mahomes was the team’s full-time starter. In the process, the Chiefs averaged 35.3 points per game in 2018, 28.2 points per game in 2019, 29.6 points per game in 2020, 28.2 points per game in 2021 and 29.2 points per game in 2022. They were top six in the league in scoring in each of those seasons, twice clocking out first.

For reference, Kansas City hasn’t averaged more than 22.6 points per game in a season since.

[Get more Chiefs news: Kansas City team feed]

Under Bieniemy’s watch, Mahomes hit the ground running. In his first full season, he tossed a career-high 50 touchdowns. In addition to winning the Super Bowl during the 2019 and 2022 seasons, the Chiefs also made it in the 2020 campaign before the Tampa Bay Buccaneers stifled them.

Advertisement

Despite generating yearly buzz when the NFL’s coaching carousel spun, Bieniemy never landed a head-coaching job. He left Kansas City in 2023 to run the Washington Commanders’ offense. But his stay in D.C. was short-lived, as the Ron Rivera staff largely turned over when Dan Quinn took the reins the following season.

Bieniemy headed to UCLA, but he was fired after one season, as the Bruins averaged a mere 18.4 points per game and went 5-7, including only 3-6 in Big Ten competition. He returned to the NFL in the lead-up to this season, joining the Chicago Bears as their running backs coach. Bieniemy oversaw a backfield that produced a 1,000-yard rusher in D’Andre Swift and featured an intriguing rookie in Kyle Monangai, who picked up 783 yards and five touchdowns on the ground while the Bears returned to relevance.

As a whole, Chicago averaged the third-most rushing yards per game (144.5) this season.

Bieniemy will now take what he learned from Ben Johnson’s system and be tasked with helping a Chiefs offense that desperately needs to innovate again.

Advertisement

Kansas City ranked 25th in rushing, and, for the third straight go-round, Mahomes averaged fewer than 265 passing yards per game. The Chiefs are due for some upgrades at the receiver position.

Their offensive line getting healthy again will help. Mahomes has to successfully complete his recovery from a torn ACL, too.

But cutting down on penalties and finding new ways to catch defenses off guard will also be key for Bieniemy in assisting Reid, with an eye toward Kansas City recreating offensive fireworks.