NFL rumors: Eric Bieniemy's new job is out of the NFL entirely, back to his roots

When Eric Bieniemy left the Kansas City Chiefs' offensive coordinator role to take a job with the same title with the Washington Commanders under Ron Rivera, it looked like the move -- and its obvious lateral nature -- was to give Bieniemy a chance to prove himself as a head coach candidate. After all, if he could prove the Commanders had offensive life, there would be no doubting his offensive prowess.

He thrived in Kansas City, but hitching his reputation to that of Patrick Mahomes created some doubts -- perhaps unfair -- about his qualifications and how much of the offensive success was his doing.

Now, Bieniemy is out of the league entirely in a new role.

Eric Bieniemy accepts new role with UCLA football program

According to ESPN insider Adam Schefter, Bieniemy just accepted a role as associate head coach and offensive coordinator of UCLA.

Bieniemy's offense in Washington struggled -- 25th in points scored, 24th in yards -- and put a damper on his chances at becoming an NFL head coach. He interviewed for the Commanders role once Rivera was fired, but Washington ended up hiring Dan Quinn, who opted to build his own staff and did not retain Bieniemy. Instead, Quinn hired Kliff Kingsbury.

Bieniemy's first statement noted he is heading home, where he played high school football in Southerrn Calif. He also worked as a running backs coach for UCLA in the early 2000s. He sounds optimistic, not defeated, about the new opportunity.

This projects as a good next step for Bieniemy to prove his coaching capabilities. While his time at Washington produced poor results, the weapons he had at his disposal weren't great. In college, the results on the field are far more about the scheme and game plan than they are about the players at your disposal.

If he can prove himself at this level, perhaps we see another head coaching cycle where his name pops up for NFL vacancies. But then again, what more does this guy have to prove?