The Chiefs are set to make a change at offensive coordinator, but it won’t be a major shock to the system in Kansas City.
According to multiple reports, they plan to hire Eric Bieniemy as their offensive coordinator. Word of their interest in interviewing Bieniemy, who is currently the Bears’ running backs coach, first surfaced on Monday morning.
Bieniemy was the team’s offensive coordinator from 2018-2022 and left to call the offensive plays for the Commanders in 2023. Matt Nagy began his second stint in the role when Bieniemy left the team, but has an expiring contract and is a finalist for the Titans’ head coaching job.
Bieniemy’s stint in Washington ended after one season and he spent 2024 at UCLA before joining the Bears’ staff.
Tom Pelissero of NFL Media reports that the Chiefs are also hiring Chad O’Shea as their wide receivers coach. O’Shea was on the Browns’ staff since 2020 and replaces the fired Connor Embree.
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The Chiefs may be bringing a familiar face back to Andy Reid’s coaching staff.
According to multiple reports, they have requested permission to interview Bears running backs coach Eric Bieniemy. Bieniemy was the offensive coordinator in Kansas City from 2018-2022 and those reports say the request is for an interview for that role.
Matt Nagy closed out the 2025 season as the offensive coordinator with the Chiefs, but he has an expiring contract and is seen as a top candidate to land the head coaching job in Tennessee.
Bieniemy got a number of head coaching interviews during his time with the Chiefs, but wound up making a lateral move to be the coordinator for the Commanders. While that afforded him an opportunity to call plays, the Commanders went 4-13 and he was dismissed along with head coach Ron Rivera at the end of the season. He spent a year at UCLA before joining the Bears’ staff for the 2025 campaign.
When the Chiefs missed the playoffs this season, there was a lot of talk about the chance for a changing of the guard in the AFC.
There’s still more to play out in the conference, but meeting the new boss is looking a lot like the old boss in one respect. The Patriots are back in the title game after beating the Texans on Sunday and that continues a long run that’s seen either New England or Kansas City involved in deciding the AFC champion.
Next Sunday’s game in Denver will be the 15th straight conference title game involving either the Patriots or the Chiefs. The Patriots made it after the 2011-2018 seasons and beat the Chiefs in their final appearance. Patrick Mahomes would lead the Chiefs to a win the next year and they would make six more appearances before things went south for them this year.
Those Patriot teams were quarterbacked by Tom Brady rather than Drake Maye, but the 2024 first-round pick’s rapid rise to MVP contention has raised hopes that another prolonged run of success is already underway in New England.
49ers defensive coordinator Robert Saleh and the Titans have made a date for Monday.
According to multiple reports, the Titans will have an in-person interview with Saleh. He had been scheduled for a virtual interview with the team on Sunday.
Saleh’s season ended with Saturday night’s loss to the Seahawks. The former Jets head coach returned for his second stint running the 49ers defense this season.
The Titans are also set to hold second, in-person interviews with Chiefs offensive coordinator Matt Nagy and Packers defensive coordinator Jeff Hafley over the next couple of days. The move to meet Saleh face-to-face and the timing of the other interviews would suggest that the Titans are closing in on their choice for a head coach.
The Titans’ second round of interviews will include another meeting with Chiefs offensive coordinator Matt Nagy.
Adam Schefter of ESPN reports that they have scheduled a second interview with Nagy. Packers defensive coordinator Jeff Hafley is also moving on to the next stage of the coaching search in Tennessee.
Nagy worked for the Chiefs from 2013-2017 before leaving to become the Bears’ head coach. He started his second stint with the Chiefs in 2022 and Titans General Manager Mike Borgonzi was in the Kansas City organization for all but the 2025 season, so there’s a long relationship between the men.
The Titans are scheduled to interview 49ers defensive coordinator Robert Saleh on Sunday and he could be added to the second round of meetings if all goes well.
Nothing about the Chiefs’ 2025 season seemed to go right, particularly with quarterback Patrick Mahomes tearing his ACL in December.
But with the club out of the postseason for the first time since 2014 — let alone the first time in the Mahomes era — Kansas City will have a chance to reset in some different ways this offseason.
One of those factors appears likely to be the team’s offensive coordinator. Matt Nagy, who has held the role since 2023, is a popular choice on the head coach interview circuit in this cycle. But even if Nagy doesn’t land a top job, he is reportedly looking at becoming a play-calling offensive coordinator for another team.
With that, the Chiefs could bring back current Bears running backs coach Eric Bieniemy or someone else to infuse the club with something new on offense.
Speaking to reporters on Thursday, Mahomes said he’s hoping Nagy gets another chance to be a head coach, as he’s done a lot of great things to help him in his career. But there are some traits he’d like in Kansas City’s next OC.
“Obviously, there’s names out there, but with how many vacancies there are at the head coaching job, you have to let that all play out to see how you build the staff,” Mahomes said. “I know coach Reid — if ‘Nags’ is able to get another head coaching job, that he’ll have a good plan of who he wants to bring in.
“But for me, I just want someone that loves football, that cares about football, wants to give everything they can to win, to hold people accountable, and then to bring new ideas every single day,” Mahomes continued. “That’s something that we have to continue to do if you want to continue to be great in this league, is you have to continue to evolve and get better and better and that’s something that we’ll try to do here and I want to get back to that winning culture of being accountable to each other and going out there and playing great football every single day, practice or game.”
It stands to reason that Mahomes — who also mentioned that he’s targeting a Week 1 return to play — will have some input on who the next offensive coordinator might be. With several offensive assistants departing the franchise for one reason or another this offseason, we’ll see how Kansas City’s staff turns out and how that affects the club’s offense in 2026.
It was previously reported that the Chiefs fired wide receivers coach Connor Embree, but he wasn’t the only departure after the team’s 6-11 season.
Head coach Andy Reid also let go of running backs coach Todd Pinkston, and two other assistants left for other jobs, Sam McDowell of the Kansas City Star reports. Defensive assistant Louie Addazio accepted the offensive line job at UNLV last week, and assistant defensive line coach Alex Whittingham joined his father, Kyle, at the University of Michigan.
Offensive coordinator Matt Nagy is interviewing for head coaching jobs. He is among the leading candidates for the Tennessee job, where former Chiefs assistant General Manager Mike Borgonzi is leading the search as the Titans’ General Manager.
Nagy also could pursue offensive coordinator jobs to become a primary play-caller again.
Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes suffered a torn ACL during his team’s Week 15 loss to the Chargers.
But unsurprisingly, Mahomes is aiming to be back for the start of the 2026 season.
In a video conference with Chiefs reporters on Thursday, Mahomes said his goal is to return Week 1.
“Rehab’s going great so far, just hitting all the checkpoints that the doctor wants you to do, getting the strength and the range, mobility back,” Mahomes said. “So, that’s been going great, been doing all of it here in Kansas City so far. Julie [Frymyer, Chiefs assistant athletic trainer] has been crushing it, pushing me. The doctor kind of gives you goals to get to, and I just maximize those, and they hold me back because I always want to go a little bit further. So, it’s been going great.
“I want to be ready for Week 1. The doctor said that I could be, but I can’t predict what’s going to happen throughout the process. But that’s my goal. So, I’ll try to prepare myself to be ready to play Week 1 and have no restrictions. You want to be out there healthy and giving us the best chance to win. So, obviously, I’ll hopefully be able to do some stuff in OTAs, then get to training camp and hopefully be able to do a lot there, too. So, I’m excited for the process. It’s a long process, but I’m excited for it.”
Mahomes has gone through some injury issues before, but this is his first major injury with an extended rehab process since he became a pro. Mahomes, 30, completed 62.7 percent of his passes for 3,587 yards with 22 touchdowns and 11 interceptions in 2025.
The Ravens have completed another interview with a head coaching candidate.
They announced that they interviewed Chiefs offensive coordinator Matt Nagy on Sunday. He is the fifth candidate to meet with the Ravens since they fired John Harbaugh last week.
Nagy has also either interviewed with or scheduled interviews with the Cardinals, Raiders and Titans in recent days. He has been the Chiefs’ offensive coordinator since 2023 and was 34-31 as the Bears’ head coach from 2018-2021.
The Ravens have also interviewed Broncos defensive coordinator Vance Joseph, Seahawks offensive coordinator Klint Kubiak, former Browns head coach Kevin Stefanski, and Broncos quarterbacks coach/pass game coordinator Davis Webb.
The Commanders have interviewed Chiefs defensive line coach Joe Cullen for their vacant defensive coordinator, according to multiple reports.
Chiefs star defensive lineman Chris Jones reacted to the news on social media, replying, “Oh, sh!+. . . . .”
Cullen entered the NFL as a defensive assistant in 2006 with the Lions. He returned to the college ranks in 2009 before the Jaguars hired him as their defensive line coach a year later. He also was the defensive line coach for the Browns (2013), Bucs (2014-15), Ravens (2016-20) and joined the Chiefs in that role in 2022.
In 2021, Cullen was the defensive coordinator of the Jaguars.
The Commanders are seeking to replace defensive coordinator Joe Whitt Jr., whom they fired earlier this week.
The Chiefs have already lost assistant defensive line coach Alex Whittingham to the University of Michigan, and they fired wide receivers coach Connor Embree.
