UCLA’s Bienemy excited by homecoming, eager for improvement

By Hunt Palmer

Football can take a person many places.

For Eric Bienemy, this week it’s home.

“I get an opportunity to go home,” Bienemy said to reporters on Wednesday. “I’m originally from New Orleans. We’re going to go to Bayou Bengal Land and play against these Tigers who are playing some damn good ball.”

Bienemy’s long and winding road from New Orleans back to Louisiana has featured the highest of highs in the sport. He’s won a national championship as a star running back for Colorado. He’s won two Super Bowls as the offensive coordinator of the Kansas City Chiefs.

Individually, Bienemy was a unanimous All-American and Big 8 Offensive Player of the Year in 1990. He played 10 seasons in the NFL as a running back and kick returner for the Chargers, Bengals and Eagles.

When that time was done, he entered the coaching ranks.

He rose from high school through a pair of college stops, into the NFL and back to college and back to the NFL as a running backs coach and offensive coordinator.

His stop as Kansas City Chiefs offensive coordinator coincided with one of the best offensive runs in the history of the league. In his first season, the Chiefs led the NFL in total offense and points per game. Quarterback Patrick Mahomes threw for 50 touchdowns and 5,00 yards. Things never slowed down. Year two brought a Super Bowl title. Year five brought another.

Over that time period, the head coaching interviews came one after another. The job offer never followed.

Bienemy spread his wings from the nest of Andy Reid, Mahomes and Travis Kelce and took on a new challenge in Washington as the Commanders’ offensive coordinator. The team flopped, winning just four games. Head Coach Ron Rivera was out of job, so was Bienemy.

Now, just two years removed the pinnacle of the sport, Bienemy is trying to help revitalize a UCLA program left flat footed by the February departure of Chip Kelly.

The results through two weeks haven’t been good.

UCLA is scoring a full touchdown fewer per game than second to last in the Big 10. The Bruins are 126^th of 143 in points per game among FBS teams.

“We’re all just taking turns not doing our thing,” Bienemy said. “When that happens, I always have to look internally. I know, offensively for us, we’ve got to get off to a better start.”

The Bruins were shut out in the first half of the opener at Hawaii. Last week against Indiana, the first play was a disaster. Quarterback Ethan Garbers took the snap, turned around to hand off and collided with the running back. That ball came loose, and Indiana fell on it at the 17 yard line. Before UCLA got to its second snap of the game, it was 14-0.

Last season Garbers threw 11 touchdowns against only three interceptions. He completed 67 percent of his throws on the season and led UCLA to five wins as a starter in seven games. He was also named MVP of the Starco Brands LA Bowl.

Running back T.J. Harden was fifth in the PAC-12 in yards per carry last season and torched USC for 142 yards and two total touchdowns last year.  He’s 28.5 yards per game through two contests. He’s only scored once.

“I see two hard-working kids that love what they do,” Bienemy said. “We just all need to make sure That we’re all working with the same intensity…you’ve got to figure out how to do it collectively.”

Those fixes come a little easier when Mahomes is taking snaps. Bienemy understands this is a far different assignment than his previous stops in the NFL

“(The players) will go out there and make mistakes. I’m not worried about the mistakes that they make,” he said. “The only thing I’m concerned about is that they learn from those mistakes.”

Bienemy cited a red zone throw Garbers made against Indiana that resulted in an interception.

“Ethan shouldn’t have forced (the throw). He knew that instantly. The kid’s a competitor. He’s a smart, intelligent kid, and he works at it. He takes it personally. I think sometimes we get caught up because we want to be so good in that particular moment. Sometimes we force the issue. That’s not necessarily what’s best.”

Now the Bruin offense gets set for their toughest test in terms of environment with 100,000 Tiger fans waiting to greet them in Tiger Stadium. Bienemy welcomes the test.

“It’s a great defense,” he said. “I’ve known about this university since growing up down the street from them. I’ve followed that program…It doesn’t matter who we play. I just want our guys to come out and be the best that they can be for one play at a time. If we do that, I guarantee you we’ll give ourselves a chance to have a chance.”