By Bruce Feldman, Chris Vannini and Ben Standig
UCLA is expected to hire Eric Bieniemy as its offensive coordinator, school sources confirmed Saturday. ESPN was the first to report the news.
Bieniemy joins new UCLA coach DeShaun Foster’s staff. Foster, who is in the school’s Hall of Fame for his running back career, replaces Chip Kelly, who left the Bruins to take an offensive coordinator job under Ryan Day at Ohio State. Bieniemy, a Southern California native with a lot of local ties, spent three years on the Bruins’ staff from 2003 to 2005.
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Bieniemy joined the Washington Commanders ahead of the 2023 season to be the offensive coordinator under Ron Rivera. He only lasted one season with the Commanders, departing after the team went 4-13 in 2023. New Commanders coach Dan Quinn said on Feb. 5 that Bieniemy wouldn’t be on the team’s staff. Before Washington, Bieniemy spent five seasons as the offensive coordinator for the Kansas City Chiefs. Bieniemy helped the Chiefs win two Super Bowls during that stretch.
UCLA has won at least eight games in three consecutive seasons and is on its way to the Big Ten. UCLA led the Pac-12 in rushing yards per game in each of the past two seasons, the first time the Bruins had done so since 1976. The Bruins went 8-5 in 2023 and won the Starco Brands LA Bowl over Boise State.
What does this mean for UCLA?
In promoting Foster to head coach, the Bruins needed to surround Foster with coaching experience, and Bieniemy brings plenty of that. Foster has never coordinated an offense, so this will be Bieniemy’s show, and given the success he had in the NFL with the Chiefs, that’s well earned.
Moving back to college will put Bieniemy back in the road recruiting, where the Bruins need to improve. While it’s been more than a decade since Bieniemy coached at Colorado, his name recognition should get the attention of a lot of recruits.
The Bruins will head into spring practice with seniors Ethan Garbers and Collin Schlee likely battling again for the starting quarterback job. — Chris Vannini, senior college football writer
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How Bieniemy got here
If passion lacked within the Bruins program last year, problem solved. Whether Bieniemy’s arrival means kick-starting the offense, we’ll see.
Bieniemy faced an uphill climb upon joining the Commanders one year ago. After a few fits and starts, he and the team slid backward during an eight-game losing streak that closed out any thoughts on new ownership retaining the existing staff.
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Bieniemy helped first-year starting quarterback Sam Howell improve over the summer and early portions of the regular season. Oddly, Washington was leading the league in pass attempts halfway through the season despite having a sturdy ground game and Howell taking an extraordinary amount of hits in the pocket (65 sacks). The QB faded as the season progressed and finished with 21 touchdown passes and a league-high 21 interceptions.
However, veteran Jacoby Brissett relieved Howell in two games. In his first five drives, Brissett led Washington to five touchdowns. This is where the Bieniemy believers can find comfort even if Washington’s 2023 dive appears to have shaken the rest of the NFL teams as well, assuming any were still eyeing the longtime assistant for a high-ranking position.
Onlookers were surprised when the two-time Super Bowl-winning OC took a quasi-lateral move to a mediocre Washington team with new owners arriving. The reality is teams weren’t clamoring for Bieniemy’s services and the Chiefs were set to expand the role of former Bears head coach Matt Nagy. The Commanders gave Bieniemy autonomy over the offense and let him run practices.
Washington met with him for its then vacant head coach opening in January, and at least one team interviewed Bieniemy for a coordinator position. After another quiet offseason, it looks like UCLA is willing to give the L.A. native a similar opportunity. — Ben Standig, Washington Commanders beat writer
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(Photo: Justin Edmonds / Getty Images)