Kansas City Chiefs fans hoping for a reunion with former offensive coordinator Eric Bieniemy for the team’s upcoming playoff run shouldn’t hold their breath.
Despite the Washington Commanders relieving HC Ron Rivera of his duties, Bieniemy remains as the team’s assistant head coach and offensive coordinator. He signed a two-year contract this past offseason, which means he’s still obligated to remain in Washington unless they were to dismiss him as well.
Commanders owner Josh Harris spoke about Bieniemy with media members on Monday. He commented on his future with the organization and his role in the interim following Rivera’s departure.
“I’ve enjoyed working with Eric (Bieniemy), and obviously, he’s had success over the years,” Harris said. “I spoke to Eric today and he’s hard at work managing our franchise. I look forward to, hopefully, having our senior football operations executive in place and then approaching the search with Eric and others.”
That doesn’t exactly sound like a surefire commitment to Bieniemy as a head-coaching candidate or someone who will remain on the staff long-term. At the same time, he’s the one running things from a coaching standpoint after Ron Rivera’s departure.
After the Commanders have new leadership in place, things could go in many different directions for Bieniemy. There is little doubt that his disciplinarian coaching style is missed in Kansas City. A return down the line might not be out of the question depending on how things unfold, but fans shouldn’t expect that to happen in the immediate future.