Eric Bieniemy, the offensive coordinator for the Washington Commanders, is returning to college and will work with new head coach DeShaun Foster at UCLA, he confirmed to ESPN. ESPN reported that Bieniemy, who also served as the offensive coordinator for the Kansas City Chiefs under Andy Reid, is finalizing a two-year deal to serve in the same role and become the associate head coach at UCLA.
Bieniemy was an assistant coach for the Bruins from 2003 to 2005, so this is a return to his hometown
. “Southern California,” Bieniemy wrote in an email to ESPN on Saturday. “I attended high school there. I started my career in the league here (with the Chargers). It’s obviously great to be back with the Bruins, where I
Bieniemy, 54, also spoke about Foster, who on February 12 became UCLA’s 19th football coach. Chip Kelly, 44, was replaced by Foster, who left to take a position as Ohio State’s offensive coordinator. “This is a great opportunity for me to help support DeShaun as a head coach, to work with him and to work for him as well,” Bieniemy said in a statement. “My goal is to help him to be a successful head coach in our profession.”
As the new head coach, Foster inherits an 8-5 record from Kelly’s last campaign, which included a 4-5 record in the Pac-12.
This autumn, the Bruins join the Big Ten Conference. Bieniemy told ESPN that he “chose not to stay” in Washington after spending one season as the offensive coordinator for the Commanders.
Kliff Kingsbury, the head coach of the Arizona Cardinals, was hired by new head coach Dan Quinn. Bieniemy was promoted to offensive coordinator for the Chiefs in 2018 after serving as the team’s running backs coach from 2013 to 2017. Reid continued to call offensive plays for the Chiefs.