The Kansas City Chiefs once had one of the best offensive coordinators in football, Eric Bieniemy. Bieniemy led the Chiefs offense from 2018 to 2022, helping the lead secure two Super Bowl wins.
Following the 2022 season. Bieniemyleft the Chiefs to become the offensive coordinator for the Washington Commanders in 2023. He would only serve one year in that position, eventually being lured to the collegiate level.
Bruins’ new head coach DeShaun Foster hired Bieniemy to lead the offense, which was a huge hire. However, the Bruins failed to make much noise in their Big Ten conference debut. The team ended the season 5-7 and struggled mightily in the beginning.
Now, it appears Coach Foster is making a huge change for the 2025 season, as Bieniemy has now been fired.
There is no telling where Bieniemy might end up, but he is a strong offensive mind that is likely going to lead to multiple opportunities. However, his time with UCLA is now over after just one season running the offense.
One of the biggest issues for the Bruins was the massive amounts of injuries. Before the season began, the offensive line was all but decimated. This led to star quarterback Ethan Garbers not getting the chance to truly flourish.
Garbers ended the season with 2,727 yards, 16 touchdowns, and 11 interceptions.
Though the injuries to the offensive line and team are not on Bieniemy, the team’s inability to get the run game going, along with Garbers regressing is something that the former offensive coordinator should have been able to help. The hope was that Bieniemy was meant to turn the Bruins around in the same way that he did with the Chiefs.
Though the college level and NFL are clearly not the same, the fact that Bieniemy could not get the Bruins in the right spot offensively was troublesome. Still, one season is not quite enough of a sample size to truly determine if a system does not work.
It could just be that Bieniemy and the Bruins did not meld the right way, which happens in football. It could be that the former Chiefs offensive coordinator was too used to coaching professional players and that returning to the collegiate level was a bit too much to deal with. Either way, he will not be searching for a new role at either the NFL or NCAA level.
