The Washington Commanders officially hired Eric Bieniemy as their offensive coordinator and assistant head coach on Saturday.
Bieniemy, 53, spent the past five seasons as the offensive coordinator for the Kansas City Chiefs, winning five AFC West titles, three AFC championships and two Super Bowls.
He worked on Andy Reid’s staff in Kansas City for 10 years, serving as running backs coach from 2013-17 before his promotion to offensive coordinator in 2018.
Under Bieniemy, the Chiefs ranked first in both total offense and scoring offense in 2022. They were first in both categories in 2018 and never ranked lower than sixth in the league in either statistic in the past five years.
Reid handled most of the play-calling duties for Kansas City, and the offense has flourished since Patrick Mahomes took over at quarterback. The Chiefs defeated the Philadelphia Eagles 38-35 in Super Bowl LVII last Sunday.
Bieniemy, who is Black, was passed over in the latest cycle of coaching hires. According to USA Today, he has interviewed for head-coaching vacancies 16 times with 15 NFL teams (including the New York Jets twice), with many feeling he had been unfairly passed over because of his race.
Bieniemy was an All-American running back for a Colorado team that won a national championship in 1990. He went on to play nine seasons in the NFL with the then-San Diego Chargers, Cincinnati Bengals and Eagles.
The Commanders fired offensive coordinator Scott Turner following the 2022 season. Washington had a top-10 defense but ranked 20th in total offense and 24th in scoring offense last season, and head coach Ron Rivera has said that 2022 fifth-round draft pick Sam Howell is the team’s No. 1 quarterback entering the offseason.
–Field Level Media