Chiefs' Top OC Options to Benefit Patrick Mahomes After Eric Bieniemy to Commanders

Eric Bieniemy is heading to Washington.

The longtime Chiefs offensive coordinator is set to take the same position with the Washington Commanders, his agent confirmed to NFL Network's Tom Pelissero on Friday.

Bieniemy has been an assistant coach with the Chiefs since 2013, starting as running backs coach before being promoted to offensive coordinator in 2018. His promotion coincided with the ascent of Patrick Mahomes to the starting lineup and has led to the greatest sustained period of offensive production in Kansas City history.

Mahomes has won a pair of NFL MVPs while bringing the Chiefs two Super Bowl rings, including doing both during the 2022 season. Despite Mahomes and Andy Reid both vocally crediting Bieniemy's contributions, he has tried time and again to land head coaching jobs to no avail.

Moving to Washington is seemingly a signal from Bieniemy that he does not believe he'll land a head coaching gig until he leaves the Mahomes-Reid shadow.

As far as the Chiefs go, this seems like a pretty straightforward situation. Former Chicago Bears coach Matt Nagy is a borderline lock to replace Bieniemy, retaking the job he held during the 2016 and 2017 seasons. Nagy rejoined Reid's coaching staff as a senior assistant and quarterbacks coach in 2022 after being let go by the Bears.

NFL Network's Ian Rapoport noted Nagy is the "top candidate" for the position, though Kansas City will go through a more formal interview process before making a decision.

The Chiefs could also consider an in-house candidate in passing game analyst David Girardi, but it seems more likely that he would get a promotion to quarterbacks coach when Nagy takes over offensive coordinator duties.

If Andy Reid wanted to make a major splash and open some eyes, he may consider former Cardinals coach Kliff Kingsbury for the position.

Kingsbury initially seemed content to stay out of coaching for 2023, but he did express some level of interest in the Texans' offensive coordinator opening.