Chiefs offensive coordinator Eric Bieniemy talked QB summit, Patrick Mahomes on NFL Network

Kansas City Chiefs offensive coordinator Eric Bieniemy is attending the 2019 NFL Quarterback Coaching Summit at Morehouse College in Atlanta this week, and it sounds like he will be speaking to young coaches on Tuesday.

The event, which helps to promote diversity among the coaching ranks, is hosted by the NFL in partnership with the Black College Football Hall of Fame. Bieniemy was interviewed Tuesday morning by NFL Network reporter Steve Wyche on Good Morning Football.

Wyche asked Bieniemy what young coaches can gain from the event.

“I think they gain a lot,” Bieniemy told Wyche. “First and foremost, I’ve sat in this audience before as an assistant, so you want to gain as much knowledge as you can, as much information, and also, too — just a circle of people that you get to network with. I think that’s very, very important because a lot of times, young coaches, or coaches from smaller, different colleges, don’t have this opportunity to interact with us. And I think this is a huge environment where that takes place. And that’s the beauty of this whole entire event.”

Bieniemy outlined what he intends to discuss when it is his turn to present.

“Some of things I want to talk about—four principles,” Bieniemy said. “Some of the things I’ve learned over the years and some of the things that I’ve learned from coach Reid about how to build a successful offense. And just basically give us four key coaching points, how to attack it, certain things that you need present within that room when hiring, when dealing with a staff.”

One of the points Wyche mentioned was Bieniemy’s unique background: most times, it seems like offensive coordinators come from a quarterback-coaching history, but Bieniemy coached the Chiefs’ running backs from 2013-17 before his promotion to OC.

“I’ve always prided myself on being a football coach, so yes—did I coach running backs? Yes I did,” he explained. “But each year, I took a lot of time making sure that I could learn different positions, learn all the different information that’s being presented.”

NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport added that Bieniemy, who was a heavy favorite during the interview process for the Cincinnati Bengals this past offseason, should be in line to get a head coaching position sooner rather than later.

Rapoport’s point is one of the bittersweet aspects of being a team in Super Bowl contention—as the Chiefs have success, other teams will seek to hire away the members of your coaching and personnel staffs.

Wyche later asked Bieniemy about the opportunity to coach NFL MVP quarterback Patrick Mahomes.

“Pat is a great kid,” Bieniemy added. “Pat had a tremendous year last year, but Pat also understands it’s all about getting back to the fundamentals and being detailed in the little things that we’re expecting him to do. We’ve focused on making sure that his pocket presence and working on his footwork in the pocket remains consistent—there’s a lot of different nuances that we want to make sure he’s staying in tune with, and at the end of the day, he’s a great kid, so when you coach him hard, he understands. But the beauty of it is he’s receptive to it, and he understands, ‘Hey, it’s time to chop wood.’”

Wyche asked Bieniemy whether he believed Mahomes could do more than last year, when he threw for 50 touchdowns and 5,000 yards.

“Last year was unbelievable, OK? It was a great year,” he said. “I think when it’s all said and done with, regardless of the numbers, at the end of the day, each and every team, the goal is to win the Super Bowl, so I think if anything, if we win the Super Bowl, that will say a lot.”