Bieniemy jokes wife Mia gave him blessing to rejoin Chiefs after she was shot at their Virginia home

ST. JOSEPH, Mo. (AP) — Kansas City Chiefs offensive coordinator Eric Bieniemy joked Tuesday that he had the blessing of his wife, Mia, to return to the team after she was shot at their Virginia home because, well, “I know I was driving her and a bunch of my family members crazy in the house.”

Mia was shot the evening of July 26, and the couple's 27-year-old son, Elijah, was arrested. Eric left the Chiefs right away to help his family through the crisis, and he returned to camp last week ahead of a preseason loss to the Rams.

"First and foremost, yes, she's on a great road to recovery. Yes, she's doing great,” Bieniemy said of his wife, speaking to reporters for the first time since she was rushed to the hospital with multiple wounds. “It is one of the main reasons that I am back here, because of her recovery. She's truly a soldier. She's a saint. And it's been incredible to watch.”

Bieniemy was never far from camp, even while he was back home in Ashburn, Virginia. He was able to watch streams of practice from Missouri Western State University, and he was often conferenced into team meetings before and after the workouts.

At one point, he called Chiefs general manager Brett Veach — who he knew was seated beside coach Andy Reid — and told him to give Big Red the phone. Bieniemy proceeded to remind Reid to get on one of his players for a seemingly minor coaching point.

“I was yelling at the screen, yelling at players, yelling at coaches — ‘What the hell are we doing?!’ I'm yelling at myself, 'Why would you put that play in!?” Bieniemy said, smiling. “At the end of the day, I was making sure I was keeping up with what was going on.”

At the same time, he was driving Mia and the rest of the family crazy.

“So she was like, ‘You have my blessing to leave,’” Eric said, “so it was time to get back.”

Elijah Bieniemy has been charged with malicious wounding, the use of a firearm in commission of a felony and discharge of a firearm inside a dwelling. His court appearances remain delayed pending a mental health evaluation.

“I'd like to say thank you to the Hunt family, the entire Chiefs family for the outpouring, the love and support that my family has received through this particular situation,” Eric Bieniemy said. “And with all that said, we're back to football.”

While brash and demanding, Bieniemy is universally beloved within the Kansas City locker room. He was part of coaching staffs that helped the Chiefs reach three Super Bowls and win two, and he helped to set the foundation for the dynasty to come.

When he left a few years ago to serve as the Commanders' offensive coordinator, it was in the hopes that calling his own plays could someday lead to an NFL head coaching job. But Washington struggled in his lone season there and the coaching staff was let go, and Bieniemy ended up spending a season at UCLA and last season coaching the running backs for the Chicago Bears.

He returned to Kansas City to replace Matt Nagy, who left to become the offensive coordinator of the Giants.

“Obviously it’s great to have him back. We missed him and prayed for his family when he was out,” Chiefs linebacker Nick Bolton said. “But to have a guy like that come back to the field, man, a competitor — it brings out the best in us.”

NOTES: LT Josh Simmons did not practice Tuesday because of back pain. He worked out alongside RG Trey Smith, who has been out with a hip injury. ... DE Ashton Gillotte (foot) and WR Tyquan Thornton (hamstring) left practice early. Gillotte already has missed time with a hamstring injury. ... LB Drue Tranquill (back) and CB L'Jarius Snead (knee) were back in pads for the workout.

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Kansas City Chiefs offensive coordinator Eric Bieniemy arrives at NFL football training camp Tuesday, Aug. 11, 2026, in St. Joseph, Mo. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel)

Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes (15) talks with offensive coordinator Eric Bieniemy during NFL football training camp Tuesday, Aug. 11, 2026, in St. Joseph, Mo. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel)

Kansas City Chiefs offensive coordinator Eric Bieniemy watches NFL football training camp Tuesday, Aug. 11, 2026, in St. Joseph, Mo. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel)

Kansas City Chiefs offensive coordinator Eric Bieniemy watches NFL football training camp Tuesday, Aug. 11, 2026, in St. Joseph, Mo. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel)

CAIRO (AP) — U.S. President Donald Trump threatened to bomb Oman because he is unhappy the country is close to a deal with Iran to manage ship traffic through the Strait of Hormuz, two regional officials said Tuesday, a day after Trump leveled the threat.

The officials said the Trump administration has told Oman it is opposed to parts of the yet-to-be-announced deal, including the joint Iranian and Omani management of the exit route out of the passage that’s critical to global supplies of oil and natural gas. The officials were briefed on the U.S. position and how the administration views Oman's position.

Meanwhile, a projectile hit a ship as it sailed out of the strait, and a cargo vessel was rendered a “constructive total loss” by multiple projectiles off the coast of Yemen, according to the British military's maritime monitoring agency. The defense ministry of the United Arab Emirates said two ballistic missiles were launched from Iran toward the UAE.

An Iranian official said the strait would not reopen until the United States meets Iran’s conditions.

The U.S. believes Oman has not been tough enough in its negotiations with Iran and is unhappy with Oman’s agreement to collect voluntary fees from vessels, even if the charges are related to security and maritime environmental protection, according to the officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to talk to journalists.

Trump on Monday threatened to bomb Oman as it works with Iran on a deal to open the strait and pave the way for the U.S. and Iran to resume negotiations to end the war.

He posted a map on social media Tuesday depicting the strait as a U.S. territory. The president first mentioned the idea in an offhand comment last week. On Monday, he told reporters in the Oval Office, “I like the idea of declaring it a territory,” without providing details.

The White House on Tuesday referred to Trump’s remarks in the Oval Office and declined to comment further about Oman.

Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Kazem Gharibabadi appeared to respond to Trump’s post on social media depicting the strait as American territory.

“Just as Trump correctly wrote the name of the eternal Persian Gulf, his delusion regarding the Strait of Hormuz will soon either be corrected, or we will correct this deluded man’s delusions for him,” Gharibabadi wrote on X.

Trump's comment on Monday was not the first time he has threatened Oman. In May, he told reporters during a Cabinet meeting that Oman “will behave just like everybody else, or we will have to blow them up.”

Iran reiterated Tuesday that Tehran plans to maintain its grip on shipping traffic until Washington meets its conditions.

“Until the United States fulfills its commitments under the agreement, including lifting the blockade, releasing frozen assets, lifting oil sanctions, ending threats and military operations on all fronts, and implementing the other conditions to which it committed, the Strait of Hormuz will not reopen,” said Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf, Iran’s parliamentary speaker and negotiator in previous talks with the U.S.

The Egyptian Foreign Ministry said Tuesday that the Iranian-Omani deal could pave the way for Washington and Tehran to return to negotiations for a “comprehensive and permanent deal that addresses all concerns and enhances regional security and stability."

The statement came after a meeting between Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty and Omani counterpart Badr al-Busaidi. But it did not address Trump’s latest threat against Oman.

Trump said Tuesday the U.S. has no planned talks with Iran but insisted the strait is “open and operating,” despite limited traffic, the reported boat strike and the end on Monday of the 60-day negotiating period between the countries.

Trump wrote on social media that a U.S. blockade of the strait remains “in full force and effect,” adding that all water mines have been removed.

As the talks between Iran and Oman continue, more attacks were reported in the region.

Both missiles fired at the UAE fell into the sea, the UAE Defense Ministry said. No damage or injuries were reported. There was no immediate statement from Iran.

The ministry later said assessments showed that the missiles targeted maritime traffic. It was not clear whether they directly targeted UAE ships or the country’s territorial waters.

In the weeks after the U.S. and Israel launched a war against Iran on Feb. 28, the UAE was frequently targeted by Iranian missiles and drones, but Tuesday’s reported attack was the first in weeks.

An unidentified projectile hit a ship early Tuesday in the strait off the coast of Oman, damaging the engine room and causing a casualty, according to the U.K. Maritime Trade Operations center.

The monitoring agency did not release any details about the ship or its cargo, and it was unclear whether the crew member was killed or wounded. The agency said the Omani Coast Guard was assisting other crew members and that authorities were investigating.

Elsewhere, the cargo ship that was deemed a loss was struck about 40 nautical miles (74 kilometers) southeast of Mokha, Yemen, the UKMTO center reported.

The center did not identify the projectiles or those responsible.

The Iran-aligned Houthi rebels resumed attacks on commercial shipping in the Red Sea in July and escalated attacks on Yemen’s Saudi-backed government forces. The renewed assaults have threatened shipping through the Bab al-Mandab Strait, another key global trade route.

In other developments, the Houthis claimed they fired drones at an oil refinery in neighboring Saudi Arabia, the latest attack that threatened to reignite Yemen’s civil war and open another front in the Middle East.

The attack targeted a facility run by Saudi Aramco, Saudi Arabia’s state-owned oil company, according to a report by the Houthi-run SABA news agency. There were no immediate reports of damage or comment from Saudi Arabia.

Associated Press Writer Sally Abou AlJoud in Beirut contributed to this report.

A small boat sails past cargo ships and other commercial vessels anchored in the Strait of Hormuz off Bandar Abbas, Iran, Wednesday, Aug. 5, 2026. (Amirhosein Khorgooi/ISNA via AP)

People spend time at a beach as commercial vessels are anchored in the Strait of Hormuz off Bandar Abbas, Iran, Wednesday, Aug. 5, 2026. (Amirhosein Khorgooi/ISNA via AP)