Travis Kelce explains what the Chiefs missed by not having Eric Bieniemy
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- Travis Kelce said players stop goofing off when Eric Bieniemy is around.
- Kelce credited Bieniemy with raising accountability and practice-to-game focus.
- Kelce said Bieniemy’s meetings increased player alertness and buy-in this year.
Yeah, even professional athletes sometimes goof around on the job.
While they might not be, say, filling out NCAA Tournament brackets on their computer, playing a video game or watching a sports event, athletes also shape up when the boss comes around.
Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce mentioned it on the latest episode of the New Heights podcast. Kelce said no one goofs off around Eric Bieniemy, who is in his second go-round as Chiefs offensive coordinator.
“There’s just times a guy comes around, and you just know you’re done (messing) around,” Kelce said. “I think coach (Andy) Reid is one of those guys, but even to another degree, the accountability that Eric Bieniemy holds is second to none, man. Just his coaching style, how he preaches how to practice for it to translate into the games.
“It’s something I think we’ve missed, and you know, it’s not saying that anybody else was not good. We still went out, we won another Super Bowl, and all that (after Bieniemy left following the 2022 season). We definitely still had the pieces, but at the same time, Bieniemy has this ability to kind of tweak the culture in the right direction. I think this is going to really help us out this year.”
Now, you might think Kelce would want to avoid being caught doing something to draw Bieniemy’s ire, but not so.
Kelce said he can’t wait until Bieniemy gets on his case.
Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes said he was ready to run through a brick wall after his first meeting with Bieniemy.
“It had me ready to go, and that’s the thing,” Kelce said of talking with Bieniemy. “When you have a guy like Coach EB in the building, man, every single meeting you got a little bit more alertness, because if he calls on you — which he will call on you — you better be ready or have something to say, man. So it’s awesome.
“And I’ve talked to him briefly on a number of occasions, and he knows how much I’m ready to run through a wall for him this year, and I think everybody’s starting to really feel that in the building.”
This story was originally published June 5, 2026 at 9:01 AM.
