ST. JOSEPH, Mo. — Kansas City Chiefs offensive coordinator Eric Bieniemy has been checking in more frequently with the team during training camp, but it remains unclear when he will return to the coaching staff following the shooting of his wife at their Virginia home.
Bieniemy's son, Elijah Bieniemy, has been arrested in connection with the shooting of his mother, Mia. He has been charged with malicious wounding, use of a firearm in commission of a felony and discharge of a firearm inside a dwelling, but court appearances for the 27-year-old Bieniemy have been delayed pending a mental health evaluation.
Mia Bieniemy's condition has been improving, Chiefs coach Andy Reid said this week.
"It was great to hear from him just from a personal standpoint. You were just so devastated for him,” Chiefs pass game coordinator Joe Bleymaier, who has assumed many of Bieniemy's duties, said Tuesday. “He has been reaching out more and more lately for the football stuff and that's brought a sense of normalcy to our team, hearing from him and his thoughts on football.”
Bieniemy returned to the Chiefs earlier this year, after leaving to serve as offensive coordinator with the Commanders and spending a season apiece with UCLA and the Chicago Bears. He replaced Matt Nagy, who is now the offensive coordinator with the Giants.
The reason the Chiefs were eager to get Bieniemy back in the building was twofold: He has an intimate knowledge of the Kansas City offense, having helped the franchise reach three Super Bowls and win two, and he carries along a certain no-nonsense attitude that the Chiefs desperately needed after slipping to a disappointing 6-11 finish last season.
“We'll hold it down and when (Bieniemy) gets back, we'll be ready to have that intensity and energy. That's what I love most about him,” said Chiefs running back Kenneth Walker III, the reigning Super Bowl MVP and one of their big free-agent acquisitions.
“You can't take a play off,” Walker said, “because he's going to say something to you about it.”
Bleymaier, who is widely considered a rising star in the coaching profession, has a much quieter personality. But he joked Tuesday that he had lost his voice during practice, so perhaps some of Bieniemy's vocal traits have worn off on him.
“The guys want to be held accountable. They want someone to remind them what to do and not let anything slide,” Bleymaier said. “That's the role of the coordinator and that's the role of whoever is put in that position, to constantly uphold that standard.”
In other news Tuesday, the Chiefs continued with their second padded practice of camp at Missouri Western, and quarterback Patrick Mahomes once again worked out in full after undergoing surgery less than eight months ago to repair torn knee ligaments.
Mahomes has been wearing a brace on the left knee, but otherwise it's been hard to notice anything different about him.
“You hate to say that anything Patrick does surprises you,” Bleymaier said, “because he's always pushing the limits of what he can do with the football, and the recovery timetable from just the injuries that he's had. But physically, I haven't seen anything with the knee out on the field that would show any setbacks. Just nonexistent, any sort of knee issues, which has been incredible.”
Notes: Undrafted rookie RT Kahlil Benson continued to get first-team reps on Tuesday. He's been one of the biggest surprises of camp. ... WRs Cyrus Allen (bruised shin) and Xavier Worthy (sore shoulder) did not practice. DL Ashton Gillotte (hamstring strain) also sat out the workout. ... First-round pick CB Mansoor Delane (shoulder) continued to practice in a yellow no-contact jersey.