With the Kansas City Chiefs’ offensive coordinator Matt Nagy seemingly on his way out, the front office’s next OC hire will define this team’s offense for the years to come. And after the way this season has unfolded, they must get this right. However, from what it looks like, they aren’t heading in that direction.

Kansas City radio host Carrington Harrison, who anchors The Drive on 610 Sports Radio, believes the Chiefs are waiting for the Chicago Bears’ season to end so they can interview Eric Bieniemy. And in Harrison’s view, that’s exactly what they shouldn’t do.

“I think they are waiting for the Bears’ season to end, and the plan is to bring back Eric Bieniemy as their OC. He has a lot of weaknesses. He is not a scheme guy. He’s not a new direction guy. He is not a new ideas person. That’s what they need, they need a new ideas guy,” he said.

Harrison went a step further, saying a Bieniemy return would turn the whole thing into a mess. In his mind, Andy Reid would stay in the familiar role of play-caller and good cop, while Bieniemy becomes the enforcer. The problem, Harrison argues, is that the Chiefs don’t need a reset of personalities. They need fresh thinking. And he doesn’t see that coming with Bieniemy.

That said, it’s not as if Bieniemy is some unqualified retread. He’s currently Chicago’s running backs coach, and he has held that same job in Kansas City before, spending five seasons there from 2013 to 2017. He worked closely with the Chiefs’ backfield during that stretch, including Kareem Hunt.

Bieniemy was promoted to offensive coordinator in 2018 and held that role through 2022, becoming a core part of Reid’s staff during the run that delivered Kansas City its first Super Bowl in half a century. His success made him a popular head-coaching interview candidate around the league. When that didn’t materialize, he spent 2023 as offensive coordinator in Washington.

After one season there, Bieniemy went to UCLA as an offensive coordinator. Then Ben Johnson came calling, not with an OC title, but with an assistant role in Chicago. It raised eyebrows, but Bieniemy took it, and by most measures, he’s done solid work.

While Bieniemy’s impact on the Bears’ run game is impressive on paper, the team ranks third in rushing, and D’Andre Swift has become a legitimate weapon, piling up 1,087 rushing yards and nine touchdowns, an average of nearly 68 yards per game. Kyle Monangai isn’t far behind, with 783 yards and five scores.

However, none of that really moves Harrison. For him, it’s about play-calling authority and creative vision. He wants someone who brings new ideas into the building, not someone tied to what the Chiefs have already been. And he doesn’t believe Bieniemy fits that description.

The clock may be ticking, too. With Nagy appearing closer than ever to leaving, Kansas City might not have the luxury of waiting around much longer to decide which direction it’s going to take.

Matt Nagy might be on his way to the Ravens

The pressure on Kansas City to make a decision is mounting as Matt Nagy actively explores other opportunities, including interviewing for the newly vacant head coaching position in Baltimore following John Harbaugh’s departure. Now, for the first time in nearly two decades, the Ravens are shopping for a head coach.

With multiple interviews already conducted, the latest name to come through the door is Matt Nagy.

He first arrived with the Kansas City Chiefs as quarterbacks coach from 2013 to 2015, then stepped into the offensive coordinator role from 2016 to 2017. That run helped earn him a head-coaching job with the Chicago Bears in 2018. He finished four seasons with a 34–31 record before being let go after the 2021 season.

Kansas City brought him back in 2022 as a senior assistant and quarterbacks coach, and by 2023, Nagy was back running the offense as OC. Last season, the Chiefs’ offense graded out middle-of-the-pack—12th in the league with a C+ impact score. But, well, they still went 15–2 and reached the Super Bowl.

This year was a very different story. A 6–11 finish and no playoffs put a spotlight on everything that went wrong. But it’s worth remembering that in Kansas City’s current setup, Andy Reid is still the one calling the plays. And with meetings already scheduled with the Cardinals, Titans, and the Raiders, Nagy is surely on his way out.

As for Kansas City, Nagy’s likely departure only adds pressure to their own offseason. After a year like this, their next offensive coordinator hire has to bring something new, someone who can inject fresh ideas and eventually take the play-calling load off Andy Reid’s shoulders. Whether Reid opts for the familiarity of Bieniemy or seeks a true outsider, the choice will define Patrick Mahomes’ prime and determine if the 2025 season was an anomaly or the start of a new, more challenging era.