KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- Until this year, Kansas City Chiefs coach Andy Reid had a certain type of assistant in mind when hiring an offensive coordinator. The three who have served in that role for Reid in Kansas City were all quarterback coaches for Reid before getting promoted. All played quarterback at least in college, with Matt Nagy reaching the professional level in the Arena Football League and Doug Pederson the NFL.
Reid is doing things a different way in hiring Eric Bieniemy as the latest coordinator. Bieniemy is a running back through and through. He played the position in college at Colorado and for nine years in the NFL. He coached running backs in the NFL for 10 seasons, the past five with the Chiefs.
The only time Bieniemy has stepped outside the running-back box as a professional were his two seasons as the offensive coordinator at Colorado in 2011 and 2012. The Buffaloes went 4-21 in those seasons.
"You take from all the things that didn’t go well," Bieniemy said of that experience.
More recently, Bieniemy has been more successful. As the Chiefs’ running backs coach, he worked regularly with lesser-known players such as Charcandrick West, Spencer Ware and Kareem Hunt and helped turn them into productive players.
Each has led the Chiefs in rushing for a season in the past three years. Hunt led the NFL in rushing this season as a rookie and third-round draft pick.
Beyond that, Bieniemy said his work as a running backs coach prepared him for his latest job.
"As a running back coach, we kind of get pigeon-holed in a corner," he said. “But we’re part of the run game, we’re part of the pass game, we’re part of the protections. So we have to be thoroughly immersed in having a complete understanding of what we want to accomplish passing-wise and what we want to accomplish in the run game and how we’re going to protect the quarterback.
“That’s basically helped me throughout this entire process of gaining a knowledge of our system, of our concepts and [understanding] what we do, why we do it and how we’re going to get it done. [Running backs have] got to know exactly what’s going on -- we have to be immersed in the game plan. I’ve had an opportunity to be a part of all the groundwork that takes place behind the scenes."
Still, having anything but a former quarterbacks coach as offensive coordinator is unusual around the league. In 2017, 29 teams had a coach with the title of offensive coordinator and 22 had at least some quarterback coaching in their past.
Most of the others had either coached wide receivers or tight ends. Former running back coaches were not well-represented, with only one as a coordinator.
“I’ve known Eric a long time, both as a player and a coach,” Reid said. “He’s done a phenomenal job with our running backs and has been involved in every aspect of our offense over the last five years. He’s a great teacher and has earned this opportunity. I know he will do a good job.”