Kansas City Chiefs offensive coordinator Eric Bieniemy is back at practice for the first time since his wife, Mia Bieniemy, was shot in their Virginia home on July 26. The couple’s 27-year-old son, Elijah Zion Bieniemy, was arrested and charged with malicious wounding, use of a firearm in the commission of a felony and discharge of a firearm inside a dwelling, according to the Loudoun County Sheriff’s Office.
Eric stated it was “great to be back” as he waved to onlookers at the Missouri Western State University field.
Chiefs offensive coordinator Eric Bieniemy back at practice Monday, getting a hug from voice of the Chiefs Mitch Holthus. pic.twitter.com/xKmSjsUQtu
— Matt Derrick (@mattderrick) August 10, 2026
During his time away, Eric has kept in contact with head coach Andy Reid and the rest of the team. The offensive coordinator has watched live streams of practice during his absence.
“Yeah, first off, prayers to him and his family and Ms. Bieniemy, and she’s doing better now,” quarterback Patrick Mahomes stated on Saturday. “So it’s always great to hear the news from him about her, and it’s been good to talk to him. He’s been Zooming in. He’s been live-streaming. I mean, he’s still EB. It’s not like he’s not EB.”
“He’s calling you at the end of the night and talking to you … throughout the day and all the plays and stuff like that. And so we’ll be excited to get him back, but at the same time, we want him to take as much time as he needs to be with his family. But when he does come back, he’ll be the most excited guy on the football field,” the QB continued.
Elijah’s court appearances are delayed due to a pending mental health evaluation.
After being their running backs coach from 2017-2017, Eric was the Chiefs’ offensive coordinator from 2018-22, helping lead one of the strongest offenses in the NFL at the time to two Super Bowl wins. He was the Washington Commanders assistant head coach and offensive coordinator in 2023 and was UCLA’s assistant head coach and offensive coordinator in 2024.
Eric spent last season as the Chicago Bears’ running backs coach and returned to the Chiefs this offseason as their OC, Matt Nagy left for the New York Giants.
