KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — The Kansas City Chiefs are bringing back Eric Bieniemy to serve as their offensive coordinator next season.
The 56-year-old Bieniemy spent a decade working alongside coach Andy Reid in Kansas City, first over five seasons as the running backs coach and then five seasons as the offensive coordinator. He was part of the braintrust that helped turn Patrick Mahomes into one of the NFL's biggest stars and the Chiefs into a perennial Super Bowl contender.
Bieniemy took over Friday for Matt Nagy, who has been linked to several head coaching vacancies, and who may ultimately end up as the offensive coordinator elsewhere. Nagy recently interviewed for that position in Philadelphia.
"Thank you coach for everything! Made me a better player and man!” Mahomes told Nagy in a post on social media Friday.
Bieniemy left the Chiefs in 2023 to become assistant head coach and offensive coordinator in Washington, where he had more say in the play-calling. But after a disappointing season, Bieniemy was not retained by new Commanders coach Dan Quinn, and he wound up spending the following season at UCLA as the associate head coach and offensive coordinator.
Bieniemy seemed to revive his career as the running backs coach last year in Chicago. He was instrumental in the Bears running for more than 126 yards a game, fifth-best in the NFL, and helping first-year coach Ben Johnson go 11-6 and make the playoffs.
Bieniemy will be taking over a Chiefs offense that is coming off one of its worst seasons in recent history. They averaged only 320.6 yards per game, putting them near the bottom third of the league, and their rush offense was particularly bleak.
Things could look a whole lot different on that side of the ball next season, too.
Longtime tight end Travis Kelce is expected to announce in the coming weeks whether he is retiring. The Chiefs' top two running backs, Kareem Hunt and Isiah Pacheco, are both free agents, while wide receivers Marquise Brown, Tyquan Thornton and JuJu Smith-Schuster are also poised to hit the market when free agency begins in March.
The Chiefs also have some uncertainty at quarterback as Mahomes tries to rehab from surgery to repair two torn knee ligaments in time for the start of the season. The only other QB on the roster is journeyman Chris Oladokun.
AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/NFL
FILE - Washington Commanders offensive coordinator Eric Bieniemy smiles before an NFL football game against the Los Angeles Rams, Dec. 17, 2023, in Inglewood, Calif. (AP Photo/Kyusung Gong, File)
COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — Republican U.S. Sen. Jon Husted testified Wednesday that he was present at a 2018 dinner with Ohio’s then-Gov.-elect Mike DeWine and two former FirstEnergy Corp. executives who are accused of bribing a top utility regulator, whom DeWine appointed shortly thereafter.
But Husted, who testified remotely, said he recalled little of what was discussed that night and that he was not aware that former CEO Chuck Jones and former lobbyist Michael Dowling planned to meet with DeWine’s ultimate choice to lead the Public Utilities Commission of Ohio, Sam Randazzo, right afterward. Husted said Randazzo was not FirstEnergy’s preferred candidate for the job.
Neither DeWine nor Husted has been accused of wrongdoing. Husted's testimony in the high-profile corruption trial comes as he faces a hot-button retention bid this fall to keep the Senate seat to which he was appointed last year as a successor to JD Vance. He is expected to face Democrat Sherrod Brown, a three-term former senator who lost a reelection bid in 2024.
Husted was Ohio’s lieutenant governor-elect in early 2019, when prosecutors allege Jones and Dowling bribed the late Randazzo in exchange for legislative and regulatory favors. That included championing a $1 billion bailout of two FirstEnergy-associated nuclear plants at the heart of the $60 million bribery scandal from which the executives’ prosecutions arose. Former Ohio House Speaker Larry Householder is serving 20 years in prison for masterminding the scheme.
Asked Wednesday about the purpose of the 2018 dinner, Husted told jurors, “I don't precisely know. I did not organize it. But it was, I think basically, it was that FirstEnergy was going to be in town and they wanted to say ‘hi’ and congratulate us on winning.” He said he did not recall anything discussed during the meal, only that DeWine wasn't feeling well.
Husted confirmed the general theme of discussions he'd had with Jones and Dowling — which the latter two texted about, sometimes with Householder — surrounding progress on House Bill 6, the state bailout bill.
Special Assistant Attorney General Matthew Meyer asked whether Husted knew Laurel Dawson, DeWine's then-chief of staff, and her husband, Mike Dawson. Husted said yes and described Mike Dawson as a friend. In response to questioning, Husted said he wasn't aware that Mike Dawson had been a consultant to FirstEnergy and once shared an office with Randazzo, nor had he ever heard that Mike Dawson shared information about the happenings inside the DeWine-Husted administration with Dowling.
Laurel Dawson was the person who vetted a dossier on Randazzo put together by DeWine's fellow Republicans, which urged the governor not to choose him because he was too close to FirstEnergy. The document was reviewed and dismissed without being shown to the governor. Husted said Wednesday that the only opposition to Randazzo's nomination that he could recall came from American Electric Power.
The Dec. 18, 2018, dinner, held at the storied Athletic Club of Columbus, is pivotal to Jones' and Dowling's cases. Evidence has shown that DeWine, Husted, Jones and Dowling were joined at the meal by Josh Rubin. Earlier in the day, Rubin — a FirstEnergy lobbyist and adviser to the 2018 DeWine-Husted campaign — had provided advice to the executives on how to lobby DeWine, then the governor-elect, in favor of the company’s preferences to chair the Public Utilities Commission of Ohio, according to a text contained in the criminal complaint.
Husted said he did not recall them doing that.
Rubin cautioned the executives not to mention to DeWine that they would be meeting Randazzo at his residence after the dinner. Later in the day, Randazzo texted Dowling a list of figures for the years 2019 through 2024: “Total 4,333,333.” “Got it, Sam,” Dowling replied. “Good seeing you as well. Thanks for the hospitality. Cool condo.”
The next day, Jones also texted Randazzo. “We’re going to get this handled this year, paid in full, no discount,” he wrote. “Don’t forget about us or Hurricane Chuck may show up on your doorstep! Of course, no guarantee he won’t show up sometime anyway.”
Randazzo replied, “Made me laugh — you guys are welcome anytime and anywhere I can open the door. Let me know how you want me to structure the invoices. Thanks.”
Randazzo faced state and federal charges for his role in the scheme before dying by suicide in April 2024.
Sen. Jon Husted, R-Ohio, speaks during an event about the Ratepayer Protection Pledge, in the Indian Treaty Room of the Eisenhower Executive Office Building on the White House complex, Wednesday, March 4, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)
