Several changes took place on the Commanders’ sidelines this offseason, including Ron Rivera being replaced as head coach by Dan Quinn. The latter elected not to retain incumbent offensive coordinator Eric Bieniemy, leaving him with an uncertain coaching future. He has found his next opportunity, however. 
Bieniemy is set to join UCLA’s staff on a two-year deal under the title of associate head coach/offensive coordinator, as ESPN’s Adam Schefter and Pete Thamel report. That report includes excerpts from an email Bieniemy sent to ESPN, in which he noted that he was not fired by the Commanders, and that he simply elected not to stay (though it is unclear whether he was given the chance to stay on as Washington’s OC under Quinn, or if he was asked to take a different position on the offensive staff).
“I have no regrets with the Commanders,” Bieniemy wrote. “Contrary to what some think and what has been put out in the media, I was not fired. I actually just chose not to stay. Learned a lot and that is always a good thing.”
Bieniemy will now work alongside DeShaun Foster, who succeeded Chip Kelly as head coach of the Bruins this winter. The move represents Bieniemy’s first NCAA coaching gig since he worked as Colorado’s OC from 2011-12, and it also marks a return to UCLA, where Bieniemy served as the school’s running backs coach for three seasons. The 54-year-old had been in the NFL since 2013, enjoying a successful run as Kansas City’s RBs coach and later offensive coordinator until 2022. He joined Rivera’s Commanders staff in a move which included play-calling duties.
Washington’s 2023 campaign was driven in large part by the decision to hand the reins to Sam Howell as the team’s starting quarterback. The 2022 fifth-rounder showed promise at times, but by the end of the season he found himself being benched mid-game on more than one occasion. Quinn and the Commanders will move forward with new OC Kliff Kingsbury and, in all likelihood, a signal-caller selected with the No. 2 pick in April’s draft as their new starter.
Despite a less-than-impressive showing in the nation’s capital, Bleacher Report’s Jordan Schultz notes Bieniemy drew interest from a number of NFL teams for a new OC opportunity. He joined the Commanders on a two-year contract, leading some to believe he would simply take the 2024 season off before planning his next move. Instead, he will now hold a pivotal role at UCLA as the program transitions out of the Pac-12 and into the Big Ten.
The 2024 offseason has seen a steady flow of coaches leaving the college ranks and taking lesser positions with NFL staffs. Bieniemy – who has seven years of experience at the NCAA level and 16 in the NFL – will head in the opposite direction with this deal. His reputation as an offensive play-designer was established during his decade on the Chiefs’ staff, a tenure which included a pair of Super Bowl titles. He will now aim to boost his stock with at least a brief period at the college level before a potential NFL return.
Wow…. In 2 years this guy might be a RB coach in the MAC Conference. He’s falling fast.
I think Division I is optimistic for him down the line. Maybe an assistant at a community college.
But it’s an outrage that he isn’t an NFL head coach. That narrative was always tired and I’d like to know where all the writers that were pushing it have gone
They tried to push this guy on the nfl as a head coach and tried to say there were noncompetitive motivations for not making him at coach. Now, with hindsight, we can see, he just wasn’t good enough.
How can we see? Matt Rhule, Nathaniel Hackett every coordinator and their grandmother has gotten a chance to be a nfl head coach except for EB. No matter knows what it will look like because we haven’t seen it.
Yeah, agreed. What is it about the guy that’s such a negative? Honest question. I don’t know enough about him personally and it appears that all he does is have success
He needs to learn how to fail up like Matt Nagy.
Patrick Mahomes should be in the HOF alone for making people believe Bienemy was a good OC
Yeah, cause Andy Reid Def wasn’t calling the plays
I don’t know. Mahomes would make ANY coach look good.
He probably won’t last 2 seasons at UCLA. But I could see him being a successful OC at one of the service academies.
How the mighty have fallen. Nobody wants a college job anymore and he was supposed to be the next great head coach in the NFL. It is a tired act all around
Nobody EVER claimed he was gonna be a great head coach.
But the only thing tired is people’s negative attitudes like yours. E.B is a good man and a good coach.
Yeah he’s a great guy as long as you ignore the domestic violence, choking women, dui, leaving the scene of an accident, and covering up sexual assault.
I think people are figuring out that the Chiefs OC is just the guy who gets coffee and donuts for the QB meetings. Reid and Mahomes are the ones who do the heavy lifting.
For whatever reason, Bieniemy has a bad reputation but is regarded as a good play designer. The fact that Reid is calling the plays was never his issue. Mike Mcdaniels was Kyle Shanahans right hand man/OC, is regarded as a brilliant play designer, but never called plays. Mike seems to be doing pretty good in Miami as a HC.
College is becoming more like the pros, so it makes sense teams might want some pro coaches, and are likely paying top dollar. This will let Bieniemy work on his reputation and try to keep moving up the ladder to land that HC opportunity. Despite going from the NFL to college, it’s not actually a demotion, and likely isn’t a discernible pay cut either.
Vikings HC was under McVay and never called plays.
I don’t think Zac Taylor called plays either under McVay
I think it is more Bienemy apparently is tough on players and maybe hard to be around.
O’Connell did call plays in Washington though as McVay’s replacement when he left.
“For whatever reason” do a little research. There are a lot of reasons he has a bad reputation.
I can’t believe the pats hired Alex Van Pelt over him the funny thing is if the draft a player like Daniels win AVP was fired because they didn’t like the way he was using Wilson well the other coached the best qb in that game right now
Great hire for UCLA.
No reason UCLA football should not be better than they are, U got most applied to university in US, the weather is spectacular, the most beautiful woman in the world, the beach is right around corner, n Westwood is in very nice area not like usc in Watts. It is a recruiters wet dream, only thing holding back is NIL$ back that goes for alot of major programs. Go Gutty Lil Bruins !
The best players go to programs that will help launch them into the NFL. There are beautiful women at every college so that isn’t a factor. Neither is the beach, these guys are there for business not fun.