The Kansas City Chiefs offense had its first test of 2026 on Saturday during the preseason opener against the Los Angeles Rams. The offensive coordinator, a familiar voice on the sidelines, returned after a few seasons away and last week following a traumatic personal matter.
"Intensity is the first thing, and it's infectious. Makes you want to scream 'motherf***’ at everybody doing the wrong thing. And I love that shit. That's one of my favorite things about him," said Travis Kelce during a recent press conference. "I don't think there's enough of that in the world, let alone in this building, and I think E.B.'s one of those guys where his accountability is gonna piss you off. But if you treat it the right way and you act the right way, respond
the right way with it, you're gonna become better of it, and it's gonna make the team a better team because of it. And it's one of those things that I think we really missed here in Kansas City."
Bieniemy spent nine years as an assistant coach and coordinator with Kansas City before leaving ahead of the 2023 season. In 2025, he was a key member of the Chicago Bears' NFC North championship team while serving as their running backs coach.
"It's been good to talk to him. He's been zooming in. He's been live streaming. I mean, he's still E.B.," said Patrick Mahomes, recalling maintaining contact with Bieniemy while he was temporarily away from the team. "It's not like he's not E.B. And so, he's calling you at the end of the night and talking to you about kind of throughout the day and all the plays and stuff like that."
Bieniemy reclaims his role in Kansas City this season, replacing Matt Nagy, who is the new offensive coordinator for the New York Giants. The Chiefs struggled with errors last season, recording 15 turnovers and 119 penalties, averaging exactly 7 per game. They were among the most penalized teams in the NFL in 2025.
This article originally appeared on Chiefs Wire: Chiefs stars are benefiting more from the return of OC Eric Bieniemy
