Why Eric Bieniemy Didn't Work Out for UCLA
DeShaun Foster made headlines quickly after being named head coach at his alma mater when he hired two-time Super Bowl Champion and former Washington Commanders offensive coordinator Eric Bieniemy to construct an offense for Foster's inaugural season in charge.
However, one year later, Bieniemy and Foster mutually parted ways. While Bieniemy claims that was always the plan as the Commanders are still paying him, his lack of production, paired with UCLA's quick move for Tino Sunseri, casts doubt over that statement. So one must ask, what happened?
Bieniemy, a man who went to high school in Los Angeles and who coached at UCLA from 2003 to 2005 was supposed to be a perfect fit. He comes from the Andy Reid school of offense, helping Reid win his first and second Lombardi trophy as Chiefs offensive coordinator and as a former recruiting coordinator at UCLA, he and Foster were supposed to reestablish UCLA's dominance over the Southern California region.
Bieniemy was not devoid of talent either. Despite Chip Kelly's departure, Bieniemy still had Ethan Garbers at quarterback, a man who destroyed USC and won the LA Bowl a year before along with star running back T.J Harden and wide receivers J. Michael Sturdivant and Logan Loya.
Despite the talent, UCLA averaged 18.4 points per game, being held to 17 points or under on nine different occasions. Garbers took a dramatic step back as a passer, with a decrease in completion percentage as his interception totals skyrocketed.
Despite Garbers struggles, mainly attributed to Bieniemy's complex and unsuccessful scheme, Bieniemy would not give T.J Harden the football. Despite the departure of Carson Steele, Harden received 32 fewer carries from the previous season. That took a running back who had an 827-yard season in 2023 to a player who squeezed out 506 yards in 2024. He did have double the receptions from the previous season, but it still resulted in less production overall.
The reasons Eric Bieniemy failed are simple. His offense was awful, but that's the easy answer. The truth is that Bieniemy did in Westwood what he's always done as a playcaller and that's force round pegs into square holes. Bieniemy believes his scheme can not be defended against, and he may be right, but that idea does not work without the right players, and his refusal to have his scheme fit his personnel led to his departure from UCLA.
While he may find a job in the NFL, his parting of way after one year also means he wasn't as effective as a recruiter as Foster would've hoped. When you can't get it done on the field or off of it, it may be time to go, and for UCLA, they're done wasting time. They want to contend in the Big Ten, that's why they wasted no time grabbing the man who lit up the conference in 2024.
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