Eric Bieniemy to UCLA football as OC is genius for both sides
Hiring Eric Bieniemy as offensive coordinator is exactly what DeShaun Foster and UCLA football needed heading into the 2024 season.
When UCLA football hired DeShaun Foster to be the Bruins next head coach, a lot of people were critical of the move.
Foster doesn't have any head coaching experience. He hasn't even been a coordinator before. But Foster has been the UCLA football running backs coach and he was a Bruins legend. He also played in the NFL.
Just because he doesn't have the experience, doesn't mean he won't be successful and on Saturday, the new UCLA football head coach made a move that should make Bruins fans extremely happy, which is the hire of Eric Bieniemy the former Chiefs and Redskins offensive coordinator according to Pete Thamel and Adam Schefter.
Bieniemy has 16 years of NFL experience including seven as an offensive coordinator. He worked for the Chiefs from 2018-22, which included a Super Bowl win, and followed that up by calling plays for the Washington Commanders.
At one time, Bieniemy, who was once the offensive coordinator for Colorado, was viewed as one of the hot up-and-coming head coaching candidates in the NFL after his work with Patrick Mahomes.
Yet, Bieniemy was fired in Washington, along with the head coach. But the man knows how to call plays and this is a golden opportunity for him to get a college head-coaching job. It also checks off a major box for Foster who needed experienced coordinators to ease his transition.
You don't want an inexperienced head coach accompanied by inexperienced coordinators. Foster understood that taking the job and he did well to hire Bieniemy, who should at least bring some level of excitement back to UCLA football.
It should also get the current players even more excited and if it works out, it would be a win-win for Foster and Bieniemy, who both have golden opportunities to further their careers in Westwood.