Of all the new faces at Halas Hall, nobody has had more success in their respective coaching career than new Chicago Bears running backs coach Eric Bieniemy. Bieniemy has been in the coaching game for a quarter-century, and in that time he’s won a pair of Super Bowl titles with the Kansas City Chiefs, and oversaw the peak years of Adrian Peterson’s career with the Minnesota Vikings.
Bieniemy is now in the Windy City, where legendary running backs are nearly as common as dominant defenses. But Bieniemy and this new coaching staff will have their hands full getting the running game on track after having one of the worst ground attacks in the league during the 2024 season. Tasked with leading the charge will be incumbent starter D’Andre Swift, rookie 7th-rounder Kyle Monangai, and potentially one surprising addition from the wide receivers room.
Recently, Bieniemy offered some insight on where things stand with this group starting with Swift, who didn’t live up to the expectations many had of him when he signed with the Bears last spring.
“I need him to be that kid that I saw that came out of Georgia as a tough, between the tackles-type runner that also has home-run speed ability,” Bienemy said, per Scott Bair of Marquee Sports Network. “I think he’s been pretty consistent with his reads and hitting the hole. But when it’s all said and done, we’ve got to continue chopping and making sure that we’re working to putting the consistent habits on tape on a day-to-day basis.”
Eric Bieniemy Likes Coachability of D’Andre Swift’s Backup
With Roschon Johnson having missed a good chunk of training camp with a foot injury, it’s been former Rutgers standout Kyle Monangai who has emerged as the second-team running back in Chicago, and the most likely option to receive the second-most carries this season after D’Andre Swift.
After a shaky opening series in his preseason debut that included a missed block in pass protection that led to a sack, Monangai bounced back over the next handful of series. He finished with 30 yards on nine rushes, and flashed some high-level vision and juice to finish runs. But Monangai remains a work in progress… one that Bieniemy has been pleased with.
“He understands that he’s not perfect, but that there’s things that we all need to work on,” Bieniemy said of Monangai. “Has he made mistakes? Yes, he has. But it ain’t too many mistakes that he’s made that he’s repeated that mistake. So that’s all you can ask of a kid that’s coming in for the first time and having this opportunity to compete. So, I’m happy where he is.”
But for as promising as Monangai’s training camp has been, it hasn’t been so stellar that the Bears have stopped searching for answers outside of the current running back room. A number of running backs have come to Chicago to work out and potentially earn a roster spot, including former Ben Johnson favorite Jamaal Williams. Former Las Vegas Raiders back Brittain Brown ended up being the back who won out in this impromptu competition.
But the addition of Brittain Brown won’t move the needle in any major way. It’s still a long shot he’ll even end up making the 53-man roster. But when a wide receiver starts getting work with the running backs… well that’s a development that is going to turn some heads.
DJ Moore Enters the Chat, Gets Work With Bears Running Backs
One of the more surprising stories to come out of Bears training camp is that leading receiver DJ Moore is getting a decent amount of work with D’Andre Swift and the rest of Chicago’s running backs.
In his pro career, DJ Moore has carried the ball 57 times for 431 yards, good for an eye-popping 7.6 yards per pop. Assuming Moore gets a more voluminous workload in 2025, it’s unlikely that figure will hold up. But regardless, it’s an encouraging sign that Moore can make big plays, even if he gets the ball in his hands behind the line of scrimmage.
Eric Bieniemy selfishly wants Moore more involved in the Bears running game, but knows that the 28-year-old is far too valuable in Chicago’s passing attack.
“He’s a great athlete that has good vision and he does a great job of just applying the little detail things that you talk to him about,” Bieniemy said of Moore. “He’s a flexible player. Sometimes I may want to keep him (with the running backs) a little longer, but that’s not going to happen. We’ll spread the wealth. But he’s done a great job so far, and I’m happy to have that opportunity to slip him in there every now and then.”
Moore was recently asked about sprinkling in some work with Chicago’s running backs, and although he admitted it’s a ‘daunting’ challenge, Moore seems excited to be getting the opportunity to be involved in some unique ways.
“I get paid the big bucks to do it, so why not,” Moore said, per Patrick Finley of the Chicago Sun-Times. “Just do it all and just attack it.”
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