Eric Bieniemy

Bieniemy was born on August 15, 1969, in New Orleans, Louisiana. He later moved with his family to Hollywood, California, in 1979 before settling in West Covina, California, the following year. He later attended Bishop Amat Memorial High School in La Puente, California, lettering in football and track and field. Bieniemy earned second-team All-America football honors as a senior in 1986 after rushing for 2,002 yards and 30 touchdowns. ==College career==

Bieniemy enrolled at the University of Colorado Boulder in 1987, choosing them over the University of Southern California explaining: "I had been used to living in a big city; I had never been in a small city. It was pretty, it was the first time in snow, it was just something different. I wanted to be a part of it." He played in the Fifth Down Game against Missouri as a senior in 1990, in which two consecutive rushes by him were counted as second down due to an officiating error. By the end of the 1990 season, he was named the Big Eight Conference's Offensive Player of the Year while finishing third in Heisman Trophy voting after rushing for 1,628 with 17 touchdowns en route to a national championship. Bieniemy is Colorado's all-time leader in rushing (3,940 yards), rushing touchdowns (42), and all-purpose yards (4,351). He was inducted into the school's Athletic Hall of Fame in 2010. ==Professional career==

Bieniemy was selected by the San Diego Chargers in the second round (39th overall) of the 1991 NFL draft. In 1994, he appeared in Super Bowl XXIX and recorded a 33-yard reception, the longest of the game for the team. Bieniemy also played with the Cincinnati Bengals in 1995 to 1998 before retiring after one season with the Philadelphia Eagles in 1999. He finished his career with 1,589 rushing yards, 1,223 receiving yards, 276 return yards, 1,621 yards on kickoff returns, and 12 touchdowns (11 rushing and one kickoff). ==Career statistics==

NFL Regular season Postseason College ==Coaching career==

Early college jobs Bieniemy was an assistant coach at Denver's Thomas Jefferson High School in 2000. He re-enrolled at Colorado in 2001 to finish his degree in sociology and was the running backs coach for the Buffaloes from 2001 to 2002 and was UCLA running back coach from 2003 to 2005, as well as the team's recruiting coordinator in 2005. Minnesota Vikings Following UCLA's 2005 Sun Bowl victory, Bieniemy accepted a position as running backs coach for the Minnesota Vikings in the NFL. During his time with the Vikings, Adrian Peterson led the NFC in rushing with 1,341 yards in 2007 and also in 2008 with 1,760 yards, which was also top in the NFL. Bieniemy was given the title of assistant head coach in 2010. Return to Colorado On December 2, 2010, Bieniemy returned to Colorado as offensive coordinator under head coach Jon Embree. Bieniemy was offered the head coach position in 2020 at Colorado but he declined. Kansas City Chiefs In 2013, Kansas City Chiefs head coach Andy Reid hired Bieniemy to be the running backs coach. In 2018, Reid promoted Bieniemy to offensive coordinator to succeed Matt Nagy who had been hired as the head coach of the Chicago Bears. In Bieniemy's first season as the Chiefs offensive coordinator, the Chiefs were first in the NFL in yards per game and points scored. The Chiefs reached the 2018 AFC Championship Game where they lost to the New England Patriots. In 2019, Bieniemy won his first Super Bowl when the Chiefs defeated the San Francisco 49ers 31–20 in Super Bowl LIV. In 2022, Bieniemy won his second Super Bowl with the Chiefs after defeating the Philadelphia Eagles 38–35 in Super Bowl LVII. Washington Commanders On February 17, 2023, Bieniemy signed a two-year contract with the Washington Commanders to be Ron Rivera's assistant head coach and offensive coordinator. He was given full playcalling duties, something he did not share under Chiefs head coach Andy Reid. At the conclusion of his first season with Washington, the Commanders finished with a 4–13 record. Bieniemy's offense ranked 21st in average yards per game. Bieniemy was not retained by newly hired head coach Dan Quinn following the season. UCLA (second stint) In February 2024, Bieniemy was named the associate head coach and offensive coordinator at UCLA. He was dismissed on December 5, 2024, after UCLA finished their season 5–7, ranking 117th in yards per game and 126th in points scored per game. Chicago Bears On February 20, 2025, the Chicago Bears hired Bieniemy as their running backs coach on the staff of new head coach Ben Johnson. His coaching was considered a large contribution to the performances of D'Andre Swift, who achieved a career season high of 1,087 rushing yards and nine rushing touchdowns, and rookie Kyle Monangai, who recorded 783 rushing yards and five rushing touchdowns. Kansas City Chiefs (second stint) Following the Chiefs' decision to move on from Nagy at the end of his contract, Bieniemy signed a multi-year contract to return to the team as their offensive coordinator on January 23, 2026. ==Personal life==

Bieniemy and his wife have two sons. He also is a member of Omega Psi Phi. He pleaded no contest to disorderly conduct and was sentenced to community service. Bieniemy was instructed to do 40 hours of community service and attend an eight-hour firefighting training session. On September 27, 1993, Bieniemy was arrested for allegedly harassing a female parking attendant. According to the police report, while with his friends, Bieniemy put his hand on the attendant's neck, startling her. She told police that Bieniemy and his friends took off their pants and began urinating nearby. Bieniemy was also named in an outstanding warrant on a charge of driving with a suspended license. As a result of this incident, Bieniemy was banned from the University of Colorado Boulder campus for a year. In April 2001, Bieniemy was arrested for driving under the influence and was docked a month's pay. ==References==