UCLA Football: OC Eric Bieniemy Tight-Lipped About New-Look Offense

The Super Bowl champ unpacks the Bruins' improving offense.

Jan 7, 2024; Landover, Maryland, USA; Washington Commanders offensive coordinator Eric Bieniemy on the field before the game against the Dallas Cowboys at FedExField. Mandatory Credit: Brad Mills-USA TODAY Sports / Brad Mills-USA TODAY Sports

Following the UCLA Bruins' third preseason practice, new associate head coach/offensive coordinator Eric Bieniemy reflected on how, in his estimation, the Blue and Gold's offense is progressing.

Bieniemy, hired away from the Washington Commanders (where he had served as an assistant head coach and offensive coordinator) this offseason to serve under first-year head coach DeShaun Foster, enjoyed a lengthy, decorated career in the NFL. Bieniemy worked with the Minnesota Vikings before hopping to the Kansas City Chiefs, with whom he won a pair of Super Bowl titles as the club's offensive coordinator. He had also served as a UCLA coach from 2003-2005, serving as a running back and recruiting coordinator.

After his third practice, Bienemy unpacked his newest offense, according to David Woods of Bruin Report Online.

"You know what, I expect [the offense] to be right where it is right now because we're still in that growing stage," Bieniemy said. "I thought by the time we finished spring, I thought we finished on a high note, but these guys did a great job this summer, they had some player-led meetings and [quarterback] Ethan [Garbers] and the players led some installs and guys got an opportunity to go out there, so they had an opportunity to repeat what we did in the spring, so now it's a lot more familiarity, so guys are going out and playing a little faster, playing with more confidence, so it's been fun to watch so far."

Bieniemy also preached patience with regards to his process. The Bruins under Foster and Bieniemy seem poised to be in the midst of a sort of rebuilding season, in part because former head coach Chip Kelly departed fairly late into the recruitment process this offseason. But UCLA could be set up well for the future beyond this fall.

"We're just taking the process slow because, like I said, it's still an evaluation process," Bieniemy added. "We've got some O-linemen that we want to develop, we've got some quarterbacks that we need to see, we've got some running backs that are new to the program that we're working on, we've got some receivers working on some things, some tight ends, so when it's all said and done, we're right where we need to be. But I will say this–has there been improvement? Yes. But we need to not just improve individually, we've got to improve collectively as a group."

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