Why Andy Reid Remains Chiefs Playcaller Despite Eric Bieniemy’s Return

Long before he was a three-time Super Bowl winner, engaged to Taylor Swift or acting in an Adam Sandler movie, Travis Kelce was getting dressed after a preseason game at Soldier Field.

The tight end was asked who called plays for a Kansas City Chiefs offense that had cycled through different offensive coordinators early in his career.

“It’s Big Red’s offense,” he said.

And that remains the case today, even though Eric Bieniemy, the offensive coordinator from 2018 to 2022, is back as offensive coordinator, replacing Matt Nagy.

Considered one of the most imaginative and creative playcallers in NFL history, Andy Reid will retain that role for the 2026 season.

“I still enjoy calling plays,” Reid said.

In fact, part of the reason Nagy is leaving is so that he can spread his wings and have more influence on an offense — whether that is as an offensive coordinator or head coach — of another team.

“This gives Matt an opportunity to go out and run his show there and do what he does best,” Reid said. “He’ll go out and be able to put his own mark on things, and that takes my name off of it.”

Though Nagy looks for a team where he can run the offense himself, that’s not to say the Chiefs offense lacked collaboration with Nagy or Bieniemy coordinating the offense.

Playcalling for the Chiefs has always been a team effort despite having Reid’s fingerprints all over the gameplan.

“I’m not afraid to delegate and get opinions from people, and then even in certain situations, letting them go ahead and call things in different areas,” Reid said. “We do this jointly. I keep it open, and I felt that that’s the best way. I want guys to contribute. I want them to work hard and be experts in their area and then cumulatively in all areas.”

The Chiefs have added an expert for 2026 who previously coached with them.

“I’ve had success,” Reid said, “bringing guys back into the fold.”

What Bieniemy Brings

Before Nagy’s second stint with the Chiefs, Bieniemy was the Chiefs’ offensive coordinator, and Kansas City had great results with him at the helm.

The Chiefs ranked in the top six in both yards and points in every year from 2019 to 2022. And they finished first in yards three times.

But the productivity fell off after Nagy’s return in 2023. In his three years as offensive coordinator, the Chiefs never ranked above ninth in yards or 15th in points.

It’s not a totally fair comparison, however, because Patrick Mahomes and Kelce were younger, and speedster Tyreek Hill was there for much of Bieniemy’s tenure and not for Nagy’s.

More than stats, though, Reid lauded Bieniemy’s knowledge and intangibles.

“Whether it’s coaches, players,” Reid said, “he is a great leader of men.”

The hope is that Bieniemy will not only lead the offense to the numbers it produced when he was previously the offensive coordinator, but also eliminate the mistakes, penalties, dropped passes and overall sloppiness that plagued Kansas City last year.

And the Chiefs need to get the most out of arguably the NFL’s best quarterback — Mahomes — who is inarguably the league’s most expensive asset while on a 10-year, $450 million contract.

When asked what he wants in an offensive coordinator, Mahomes stressed qualities that seem to match Bieniemy.

“I just want someone that loves football,” Mahomes said, “wants to give everything they can to win, to hold people accountable and then to bring new ideas every single day.”

Bieniemy could inject some new ideas after an impressive stint as running backs coach under Ben Johnson for the Chicago Bears who ranked third in the NFL in rushing yards while winning their division during Bieniemy’s only year there.

But don’t get it twisted: It’s still Big Red’s offense.