Windy City Gridiron
On Saturday, the Bears landed a seasoned veteran to run their backfield while keeping a familiar face at tight ends.
The Chicago Bears kept themselves busy behind the scenes on Saturday while the Senior Bowl was playing on television. Their latest hire is a coach who’s earned a great deal of admiration from his peers on the sidelines after being a national sensation in college.
Per Jordan Schultz of Fox Sports, the Bears are hiring Eric Bienemy as their running backs coach. He was most recently the assistant head coach and offensive coordinator for the UCLA Bruins.
Eric touts a grand total of 24 years as a coach following his start with Thomas Jefferson High School in Denver, CO. Prior to his coaching career, he was one of the most dynamic backs in all of college, finishing 3rd in votes for the Heisman in 1990 as the brightest star for the Colorado Buffalos. The former 2nd round draft pick would go on to play for nine seasons in the pros.
There will be talks about his background and run-ins with the law while living in Boulder, CO. What I can say, with full confidence, is he’s done nothing but earn himself a chance at redemption after spending ten seasons as one of Andy Reid’s most trusted lieutenants on his offensive staff. Up until recently, he was a hot name for head coaching interviews around the league.
The two-time Super Bowl Champion and 1990 AP National Champion brings with him a hard-nosed attitude and a knack for drawing up a physical running game. Regardless of what the final look will be for the Bears’ backfield, expect a mentality where every inch is a declared state of war against the opposing defense.
But wait... there’s more!
Per Brad Biggs of the Chicago Tribune, they will also retain Jim Dray as their tight ends coach.
After arriving in Chicago in 2022 as part of Matt Eberflus’ initial coaching staff, we’ve seen Cole Kmet slowly emerge as one of the league’s better players at tight end. As of the writing of this article, Jim Dray is the only assistant to be retained on the Bears’ offensive staff. Otherwise, he’s set to work alongside newly hired Eric Bienemy and others as Ben Johnson works to finalize his staff in the coming days.
The biggest hire remaining for the Bears is their offensive line position. Dan Roushar was the latest to interview for that role, and rumblings have surfaced the two sides could be in talks about a new deal. No formal announcement has been made yet in that regard.
