Eric Bieniemy says he chose not to stay with the leaders

After 16 seasons as an assistant coach in the NFL, Eric Bieniemy has taken a job as an assistant coach at the college level.

Upon choosing to accept the position of offensive coordinator and associate head coach at UCLA, Bieniemy turned some ideas into writing and emailed them to ESPN.com.

Among other things, he says he could have stayed with the leaders.

“I have no regrets with the leaders“, Bieniemy wrote on ESPN.com. He added: “Contrary to what some people think and what has been reported in the media, I was not fired. I actually chose not to stay. I learned a lot and that is always a good thing.”

It's unclear whether he was offered the offensive coordinator position on Dan Quinn's staff, or another job.

Bieniemy is instead returning to the school where he previously served as an assistant coach, from 2003 through 2005. He then spent five years with the Vikings, two at Colorado as offensive coordinator, five years with the Chiefs as running backs coach, and another five years with the Chiefs. As offensive coordinator, and one in Washington as offensive coordinator.

Bieniemy was a coaching candidate for several cycles, but never received an offer to run an NFL franchise.

“I have had countless conversations and interviews with many teams and have received praise and praise,” Bieniemy wrote in an email. “I cannot say why certain decisions were or were not made, but there was nothing to do [do] With nothing on my end.

The challenge for Bieniemy moving forward is finding a way to stay relevant when it comes to potential NFL jobs. If this is something he wants to do in 2025 or later.

Through it all, it's impossible to overlook the affinity some players in Kansas City still have for Bieniemy. After making a surprise visit to the team the night before the AFC Championship Game, quarterback Patrick Mahomes said he was “cold-shocked” when Bieniemy spoke to them.

Any coach who can create that kind of organic reaction for the current best player in the NFL and one of the two or three best quarterbacks of all time has great potential value to a football team. It will be interesting to see what he can do at UCLA.