Bieniemy was one of several candidates considered.
Even though Josh McDaniels was the favorite to earn the job all along, the New England Patriots interviewed several offensive coordinator candidates. Also among them was former Kansas City Chiefs OC Eric Bieniemy, as was revealed by a recent report from NFL insider Jordan Schultz.
“The belief was that Bieniemy was a top candidate for the New England job, had McDaniels not been the obvious choice,” Schultz wrote about the interview.
Bieniemy, 55, started his coaching career at the college level in 2000 and primarily worked with running backs early on. His first stint in the NFL came with the Minnesota Vikings from 2006 to 2010. He returned to the league in 2013 with the Chiefs, first coaching their running backs and from 2018 to 2022 leading their offense as coordinator.
After helping Kansas City win two Super Bowls, he left for the Washington Commanders in 2023. He spent 2024 at UCLA but was fired as the Bruins’ OC in December.
In addition to Bieniemy, the Patriots also spoke to the aforementioned Josh McDaniels as well as Thomas Brown, Marcus Brady and Grant Udinski about the position held by Alex Van Pelt in 2024. They eventually hired McDaniels to fill it — his third stint with the organization — but also ended up bringing Brown aboard.
The former Chicago Bears offensive coordinator and interim head coach will serve as the Patriots’ tight ends coach and pass game coordinator in 2025. Bieniemy following a similar path to a role on new head coach Mike Vrabel’s staff could happen, even though it seems less likely given the apparent interest he has from other teams and New England not having many openings left.