The staggering, speedy demise of a former NFL head coach hot prospect and Washington Commanders top assistant continued Thursday. Just one season after a failed stint as the Commanders' offensive coordinator, Eric Bieniemy has been fired by UCLA.
Equally surprising to the move is Bieniemy's bizarre contention that his firing is merely an orchestrated plan for his return to the NFL.
“Eric and UCLA mutually parted ways today as previously planned," his agent, Jason Fletcher, said in a statement. "He’s still getting paid by the Commanders. After interviewing for head coaching jobs last year, he wanted to stay active and busy. So, he decided to go help out Deshaun Foster, who is like his little brother, at UCLA as opposed to sitting out a year. The plan was always to return to the NFL in 2025, and he’s looking forward to the opportunities ahead."
One of many problem with that explanation/trajectory: Bieniemy signed a multi-year contract at UCLA. Another: He likely is no longer a coveted commodity in the NFL after two epic failures away from Patrick Mahomes, Andy Reid and the Kansas City Chiefs.
Bieniemy was on the Chiefs' offensive staff for 10 seasons, five of which included Mahomes as the quarterback. Determined to prove his own offensive genius, Bieniemy interviewed for several NFL head coaching jobs but was never hired, and eventually took the position in 2023 on Ron Rivera's staff in Washington.
He flopped miserably, as the Commanders finished 24th in total offense in route to a 4-13 season that got the entire coaching staff fired by new owner Josh Harris. Worse, Bieniemy rubbed players the wrong way.
He instituted a rule in which he prohibited offensive players from wearing their caps backward because, he said, grown men should wear them conventionally forward. When asked about his players' complaints, Bieniemy often spoke about himself in the third person.
"Eric Bieniemy is who he is,” Bieniemy said in November 2023 conference call. "Eric Bieniemy knows how to adapt and adjust. Eric Bieniemy is a tough, hard-nosed coach."
Ironically, the Commanders are enjoying an abrupt resurgence this season under a head coach in Dan Quinn who regularly wears his cap backward. Without Bieniemy, Mahomes and the Chiefs are doing just fine as well.
But UCLA struggled with him at the offensive controls, going 5-7 and finishing 16th in scoring out of 18 teams in the Big Ten Conference. Bieniemy's uncertainly also reportedly cost UCLA a key recruit in losing four-star quarterback Madden Iamaleava to Arkansas.
