Running it back?
Much to the delight of many football fans, it was a brutal year for the Kansas City Chiefs. After making it to the Super Bowl last year, the Chiefs didn’t make the playoffs this season for the first time since 2014.
Quarterback Patrick Mahomes also suffered a season-ending injury during a game against the Los Angeles Chargers, and underwent surgery for a torn ACL that has Chiefs fans sweating it over whether he’ll be recovered in time for the start of the 2026 season.
Aside from the team struggles, it was also a tough season for Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce, who had considered retirement after last year but decided to run it back after the team got destroyed by the Philadelphia Eagles in the Super Bowl.
What was supposed to be a redemption season following the Super Bowl loss turned into a nightmare for Kelce, who finished the season with his fewest receptions since 2015, his second season in the league.
He also made some big drops that ended up costing the Chiefs in games, including at the end of a game against the Houston Texans that led to a game-sealing interception.
Of course off the field Travis has not only his New Heights podcast with his brother Jason Kelce, but he’s also busy planning a wedding to his fiancée Taylor Swift. And at this point he’s one of the older players on the Chiefs at 37, and in fact is the only player left who has been on a Chiefs team that didn’t make the playoffs.
Naturally, there was a lot of speculation that Kelce would be hanging it up at the end of the season, especially given the fact that his contract has expired and as of right now, he’s technically a free agent.
Now, would the Chiefs bring him back for another year if he wanted to return? Of course. You’ve gotta think he’s willing to take a pretty significant pay cut to help the team out and return for a final retirement campaign, but Kelce has also been pretty noncommittal about whether he was going to return or hang it up.
After the Mahomes injury though, fans thought the tight end dropped some hints that his time as a player was over.
While discussing the quarterback on an episode of his podcast, Kelce said he hopes that “the Chiefs” get Mahomes back soon:
“He’s a fearless, fearless warrior when it comes to this football thing, and he’s gonna make sure he comes back stronger than ever. Hopefully the Chiefs can get him back as soon as possible. I know right now it’s kind of right around that week 1 or the beginning of the season next year, so I know he’s going to be doing everything he can to get back out on that field for the Chiefs as soon as possible.”
Fans quickly noticed that he didn’t say “we” when referring to the Chiefs, and suspected that was because he knew he won’t be on the team when Mahomes returns.
Hi saying the Chiefs like that and not “we” tells you all you need to know. This is his last season.
— Bryan Ogden (@BryanOgden) December 17, 2025
And Kelce also seemed to be soaking in the final game of the season at Arrowhead Stadium, leading fans to believe it was because he knew it was his last game at the Chiefs stadium.
Now though, his plans might have changed.
The Chiefs announced earlier this week that they were bringing back Eric Bieniemy as offensive coordinator. Highly regarded as one of the best offensive coaches in the NFL, Bieniemy served as OC for the Chiefs from 2018 through 2022, winning two Super Bowls during his time in Kansas City as the architect of one of the most high-powered offenses in the league.
Bieniemy left the Chiefs in 2023 to take a job as assistant head coach and offensive coordinator for the Washington Commanders, but was let go in 2024 when Washington fired head coach Ron Rivera and new coach Dan Quinn chose to bring in his own offensive staff.
He spent 2024 at UCLA before returning to the NFL this past season as the running backs coach for the Chicago Bears, which saw running back D’Andre Swift set a career high in both rushing yards and touchdowns.
It seemed like a natural reunion for Bieniemy to return to the Chiefs after Kansas City struggled on offense through most of the 2025 season, and there’s no doubt that fans are excited at the prospect of having a two-time Super Bowl winning offensive coordinator back in the building.
But it’s not just be the fans who are excited to have him back.
During this week’s episode of his New Heights podcast, Travis Kelce praised the hire and expressed his excitement to have Bieniemy back in Kansas City – and it’s got many fans believing that it’s a sign that Kelce intends to return for another season:
“I think it’s a marriage that’s going to pick up right where it left off… I can’t wait to see him back in the building, man. He’s one of my favorite coaches of all time, one of my favorite people of all time. I’ve had so many unbelievable, growing moments under him as a player, as a person. And I just love the guy, and it’s gonna be awesome to see him back in the building and see him back wearing the Chiefs logo, baby.”
Now, Travis didn’t directly confirm that he would be back. Maybe he’s just expressing his excitement for the team, despite the fact that he knows he won’t be there.
But even before the podcast dropped, there were rumors that the return of Bieniemy might end up factoring heavily into Kelce’s decision on whether he’s going to retire or not.
Kelce has also previously hinted that he doesn’t think he’s physically done quite yet, so it sounds like with the return of one of his favorite coaches, a retirement ceremony might just have to wait another year.
