For the first time since 2014, the Kansas City Chiefs didn’t make the playoffs and watched Wild Card weekend from home just like the rest of us. Hopefully, there are lessons to learn from this year’s postseason that the Chiefs can apply to their in-house philosophies.

Here are two takeaways I had from the second round of the NFL postseason.

1. Throwing the ball downfield mitigates turnover variance

Defenses have changed over the past few years. As the NFL has become more pass-happy, teams have countered by employing nickel or dime personnel against anything the offense offers. The best...

Remember the 2018 season? It was an entire calendar year that served as the coming-out party for Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes, and put the entire NFL on notice that a changing of the guard was imminent— the old being the New England Patriots, the new being the Chiefs, led by head coach Andy Reid.

The Patriots did not go quietly into that good night; the dynasty raged, and thanks to an offside penalty courtesy of Chiefs edge rusher Dee Ford, New England went on to win one last Super Bowl, before the all-time run faded into the history...

On Monday, reports surfaced of the Kansas City Chiefs’ plan to fill the vacant offensive coordinator position with a coach who has held that title in Kansas City before: Eric Bieniemy. After one year as the running backs coach with the Chicago Bears, he will return to the Chiefs for the 2026 season. Bieniemy will reprise the role he held from 2018 to 2022, when he won two Super Bowls as the right-hand man to head coach Andy Reid.

Between his departure from the Chiefs and working under Bears’ head coach Ben Johnson, Bieniemy coordinated the offenses of the [Washington...

The latest

Three former Chiefs players rave about Eric Bieniemy coming back to the team | Kansas City Star

Schwartz wasn’t the only former Chiefs player to rave about Bieniemy’s return.

Jeff Allen, an offensive lineman who spent six seasons with the Chiefs during his NFL career from 2012-2019, also spoke highly of Bieniemy.

“The organization, which includes players and coaches, is fully aware of the value EB brings to the team!” Allen wrote on X. “The stats speak for themselves. Just look at what he accomplished as the offensive coordinator in KC.” ...

The Kansas City Chiefs continue to reveal more about the new staff being built around offensive coordinator Eric Bieniemy. Sam McDowell of the Kansas City Star reported the initial departures of four assistant coaches last week, then added two more to the list on Tuesday evening.

Assistant running backs coach Mark DeLeone and offensive assistant Kevin Saxton will not return to the Chiefs’ staff in 2026, confirmed by McDowell. With these two vacanies added, there will be at least five new faces among Kansas City’s offensive coaches next season: Bieniemy, wide receivers coach Chad O’Shea, and the eventual hire to...

The Kansas City Chiefs’ underachieving 2025 season resulted in less recognition at the end of the season than the three-time defending AFC champions are used to. The Associated Press’ All-Pro team featured one Chiefs player on the first or second team: center Creed Humphrey. Kansas City had been represented by at least three players in each of the previous seven seasons.

The Professional Football Writers of America’s 2025 All-NFL team also selected Humphrey as the only Chiefs player; the All-Pro center was one of only seven individuals who were recognized on the 2024 team as well.

The PFWA breaks the...

The Kansas City Chiefs are reuniting with former offensive coordinator Eric Bieniemy after a disappointing 2025 season that resulted in a major shakeup in the coaching staff.

Bieniemy’s 2025 season was the opposite: he was hired to coach the running backs for the Chicago Bears and first-year head coach Ben Johnson, who was the hottest name among offensive-minded candidates in last year’s coaching carousel. Chicago won the NFC North and beat the division-rival Green Bay Packers in the playoffs by leaning heavily on a top-10 offense.

While quarterback Caleb Williams proved capable of leading a high-powered unit, it was the...

The Kansas City Chiefs’ decision on Monday to hire Chicago Bears running backs coach Eric Bieniemy for a second stint as the team’s offensive coordinator was largely met with fanbase skepticism. After missing the playoffs for the first time in over a decade, many observers hoped for a coordinator from outside of head coach Andy Reid’s inner circle.

Bieniemy will replace Matt Nagy, who was a finalist to be named head coach of the Tennessee Titans before the job was awarded to former San Francisco 49ers’ defensive coordinator Robert Saleh.

While Bieniemy returning to a post he held from 2018-22...

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Separating Fact From Narrative in the Titans’ Decision to Pass on Matt Nagy | Paulkuharsky.com

Matt Nagy, who worked with Mike Borgonzi with the Chiefs for eight seasons, was thought by many to be a shoo-in as the next Titans’ coach.

The Titans and Mike Borgonzi hired Robert Saleh instead.

Late Monday night, ESPN was already pumping a pro-Amy Adams Strunk, anti-Borgonzi narrative that the GM wanted Nagy and ownership moved him toward Saleh.

I know this not to be true.

Unfortunately for Nagy, it leaves him as...

With all signs pointing to the Kansas City Chiefs hiring Eric Bieniemy as offensive coordinator, the team has reportedly hired a position coach.

According to Tom Pelissero of NFL Network, the Chiefs will hire Chad O’Shea as the wide receivers coach. He has been the passing game coordinator and wide receivers coach with the Cleveland Browns since 2020, joining the staff of head coach Kevin Stefanski, who was recently hired as head coach of the Atlanta Falcons.

O’Shea brings nearly two decades of position-coach experience to the offensive coaching staff. After entering the NFL as a volunteer assistant with Kansas...

There are over three months until the 2026 NFL Draft, but with the Kansas City Chiefs’ offseason underway, it’s time to consider what draft prospects the Chiefs could select with the ninth overall pick.

On Sunday, Pro Football Focus analyst Gordon McGuinness published a first-round mock draft that had two popular names for the Chiefs’ pick taken in the top 3. The New York Jets selected edge rusher David Bailey from Texas Tech, then the Arizona Cardinals drafted Ohio State safety Caleb Downs.

With the fourth selection, the Tennessee Titans are matched with Miami defensive end Rueben Bain Jr. In...

One of the lone bright spots of the Kansas City Chiefs’ 2025 season was the emergence of rookie left tackle Josh Simmons. The Chiefs drafted Simmons with the 32nd pick in last year’s draft, and he instantly became the starting left tackle heading into training camp.

After starting the season on a strong note, Simmons missed roughly one month for personal reasons, but he picked up where he left off when he returned for three games. Unfortunately, a fractured wrist suffered on Thanksgiving Day against the Dallas Cowboys landed him on the IR and ended his rookie season.

Simmons only...