KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Several reprots Thursday indicated that Eric Bieniemy will return to the Kansas City Chiefs in 2022.
NFL.com senior columnist Jeffri Chadiha tweeted Thursday that sources have told him Bieniemy will return to the club next season.
@Chiefs team source confirms what is already being reported. @ericbieniemy is definitely returning to team next season.
— Jeffri Chadiha (@jeffrichadiha) February 24, 2022
ESPN NFL Insider Adam Schefter and NFL Network reporter Tom Pelissero reported Bieniemy and the Chiefs had reached a one-year deal in which Bieniemy will remain as the team's offensive coordinator.
Eric Bieniemy is returning to Kansas City this season as the Chiefs’ offensive coordinator, as @jeffrichadiha reported.
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) February 24, 2022
Bieniemy, 52, who joined Andy Reid’s staff as running backs coach when he arrived in Kansas City in 2013, was promoted to offensive coordinator in 2018.
During the last four offseasons, Bieniemy has interviewed for a head coaching position 15 times with 14 teams, nearly half of the NFL, but he’s yet to be hired to lead his own team.
Denver and New Orleans interviewed but ultimately passed on hiring Bieniemy during this coaching cycle.
There was rampant speculation that Bieniemy might leave the Chiefs without a head coaching job this offseason, but he’s expected to return after a meeting with Reid in recent weeks.
NFL Network Reporter Tom Pelissero reported earlier this month that Bieniemy’s contract was set to expire, fueling speculation that he could “be a hot free-agent OC target elsewhere.”
But that never materialized and Bieniemy, who was mentioned prominently in Pittsburgh Steelers senior defensive assistant and linebackers coach Brian Flores’ lawsuit against the NFL and three NFL teams, will return.
The Chiefs have finished in the top six the NFL in both scoring and total offense during each of Bieniemy’s four seasons as offensive coordinator.
Kansas City led the league in scoring in 2019 and led the NFL in total yards in 2018 and 2020.
Bieniemy — a New Orleans native, who starred at running back on Colorado’s 1990 NCAA championship team and later coached at his alma mater — previously served as an assistant with the Minnesota Vikings from 2006-10.
He played for the then-San Diego Chargers (1991-94), Cincinnati (1995-98) and Philadelphia (1999) during a nine-year NFL career, which ended playing for Reid in his first season with the Eagles.
After his playing career ended, Bieniemy enjoyed coaching stints at Colorado (2001-02), UCLA (2003-05) and then a second stint with the Buffaloes (2011-12) sandwiched around his time with the Vikings.
