For the first time in his career, Patrick Mahomes is sitting out the NFL playoffs. Mahomes suffered a season-ending knee injury in the Chiefs’ Week 15 loss to the Los Angeles Chargers. However, Mahomes still wouldn’t have been in the postseason right now even if he were healthy. The Chiefs missed out on the postseason after finishing with a 6-11 record, marking their first playoff-less campaign since 2014.
The Chiefs have since been rehauling Andy Reid’s coaching staff. They have already parted ways with six coaches, and more changes could be on the way.
Offensive coordinator Matt Nagy is also on his way out as he seeks to take a head coaching job elsewhere. On Wednesday, the Chiefs announced that they have hired Eric Bieniemy as their new OC.
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Bieniemy returns to Kansas City after three seasons away from the team. The 56-year-old was with the Chiefs from 2013 to 2022 as a running backs coach and later as the offensive coordinator.
The decision to bring in Bieniemy will significantly impact Mahomes. The three-time Super Bowl MVP is expected to return at some point in the 2026 season, and Bieniemy’s arrival will be pivotal in Mahomes and the Chiefs' success.
Mahomes knows Bieniemy well. The latter was promoted as OC in Mahomes’ second season in the NFL. They have six years of experience together, and this reunion underscores the importance of continuity and trust between OC and QB. Bieniemy earned Mahomes’s respect during their time together, and this relationship will play a key role in Kansas City’s offense in 2026.
The NFL took to social media to share its reaction to the Mahomes-Bieniemy reunion in Kansas City.
“Back together again 🫶” the league posted on Instagram, sharing a throwback video of Mahomes and Bieniemy from Super Bowl 54.
On Thursday, even before the Chiefs made their final decision on Bieniemy, Mahomes made his opinion on the team’s next OC crystal clear.
“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 told reporters in a Zoom interview.
“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.”
Mahomes gets his wish in Bieniemy.