When he was plotting out his Chicago Bears coaching staff, head coach Ben Johnson made sure to go out of his comfort zone to find the right candidate. He wanted a blend of experience and vibrant ideas. And in his running backs coach, Johnson found exactly that in Eric Bieniemy.
Bieniemy comes to the Bears with decades of football knowledge. However, he is most known for his run with the Kansas City Chiefs, serving as offensive coordinator under Andy Reid. Bieniemy helped architect some of the best offenses in the league with Patrick Mahomes under center.
Now, Reid are Bieniemy are in opposite conferences yet fighting for the same goal. But Reid holds no ill will. As Bieniemy begins his tenure with the Bears, his hold boss with the Chiefs is expecting nothing but success, via Bears on CHSN.
“All the guys became the best they could be and maximized their potential when they were under [Eric Bieniemy],” Reid said at the scouting combine.
Andy Reid had high praise for Bears RB coach Eric Bieniemy. 🙌#NFLCombine pic.twitter.com/aEwQ6CffVf
— Bears on CHSN (@CHSN_Bears) February 25, 2025
Eric Bieniemy’s road to Chicago Bears
Bieniemy began his coaching tenure as an assistant coach at the high school level in 200. He quickly made his way to Colorado and then UCLA before making the jump to the NFL in 2006. Ironically, his first NFL was as a running back coach for the Bears’ NFC North rival Minnesota Vikings.
He was with the Vikings through 2010 before making one more trip to Colorado to serve as their offensive coordinator. But in 2013, he got the call from the Chiefs. That was the same year Reid was hired to be the team’s new head coach. After working as the running backs coach until 2017, Bieniemy was promoted to offensive coordinator in 2022. With the Chiefs, Bieniemy won two Super Bowl.
But he decided to take on a new challenge in 2023, becoming the Washington Commanders offensive coordinator. That gamble didn’t work out as he was relived of his post after just one year. In 2024, he returned to UCLA as their assistant head coach and offensive coordinator.
Now, Bieniemy is ready to embrace his next opportunity with the Chicago Bears. Coaching under offensive wunderkind Johnson, Bieniemy is expected to bring everything he’s learned offensive to the Bears running back room.
Where Bears stand at running back
Entering the 2025 season, D’Andre Swift seems likely to retain his RB1 role, barring the Bears making a big splash at the position. Swift has already earned an endorsement of his own from Johnson. Still, Chicago will be expecting a bit more from the running back if he is to lead the rushing attack.
In his first 17 games with the team, Swift received a career-high 253 rushing attempts and turned it into 959 yards and six touchdowns. He added another 42 catches for 386 yards through the air. Still, Swift averaged just 3.8 yards per carry. While the offensive line will take part of the blame, the running back will need to be more consistent to truly shine under Johnson.
Behind him, Chicago only really has Roschon Johnson. He matched Swift with six rushing touchdowns in 2024. However, he only had 55 carries for 150 yards overall. While he may retain his short-yardage role, clearly the Bears need a bit more playmakers at running back.
Overall, the Bears finished their 2024 campaign ranked 25th in rushing offense, averaging 102 yards per game. After helping the Lions to a sixth-place finish, averaging 146.4 yards on the ground, Johnson is sure to bring some of his own acumen. But When Eric Bieniemy steps into his new role with the Chicago Bears, his main goal will be getting the team’s rushing attack back on track.
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