Eric Bieniemy may be roughly 1,000 miles from Chiefs training camp, but he is still coaching from Virginia as his wife recovers in a hospital bed from last month’s shooting. When it became clear that he needed to remain by her side, Bieniemy turned to technology, using tools popularized during the 2020 COVID season to stay involved with Kansas City’s offense from afar.

GM Brett Veach filled reporters in this past Thursday, saying Bieniemy has been watching camp through a live stream and still chiming in with feedback for the staff. It’s clearly resonating with the players too.

“With technology, E.B. is live-streamed in (to practices),” said GM Brett.

Watching the live practice feed from Virginia, Bieniemy spotted a detail he wanted corrected immediately. It was not a broken play or a turnover, but something far smaller: rookie running back Emmett Johnson was lined up at the wrong depth in a specific formation. Bieniemy called Brett Veach and asked to speak with Andy Reid so the alignment could be fixed on the spot.

What caught people’s attention is how difficult an NFL practice can be to coach remotely, with so much unfolding at once. Bieniemy is not simply reviewing film afterward. He is watching the live feed closely enough to catch small alignment mistakes in real time and relay corrections straight back to the field.

“That’s the thing. … It’s so refreshing to have back — that attention to detail,” Veach said of Bieniemy. “He demands each player knows his assignment. There’s never a safe space with him.”

Wide receiver Nikko Remigio admitted he’s “absolutely” still felt Bieniemy’s influence even with him away from the building, explaining,

 “If it’s not (Eric Bieniemy) that’s saying it, it’s the coaching staff that’s reiterating the stuff that he’s saying.”

Bieniemy stepped away from Chiefs camp on Sunday, July 26, to be with his wife in Virginia, and Andy Reid has made clear there is no timetable for his return.

“That part’s important, that that’s taking place,” Reid told reporters, later adding, “Eric’s a big part of this. We love having him here, but it’s important that he takes care of business and everybody knows that. Eric will be back soon enough to jump in there and do his thing, but he’s got to take care of that first.”

Mia Bieniemy has been hospitalized since the shooting and remains in stable condition. Loudoun County authorities confirmed that a woman was treated for serious gunshot wounds but did not identify her, while ESPN reported that Mia was shot in the chest and arm.

Reid gave an update Monday, noting she’s improving steadily, again stressing there’s no rush getting Eric back.

“Mia’s (Bieniemy) is doing better. She keeps improving by the day, so that’s a positive,” Reid said. “There’s no timetable on EB coming back or any of that, so he just needs to take care of business there, and then when he gets back here, he gets back here.”

Running back Kenneth Walker III probably said it best: “Just take your time. We’ll hold it down for you.”

Kansas City is moving into the second half of training camp, with nine practices remaining in St. Joseph. Andy Reid is still putting the roster through padded 7-on-7, 9-on-7 and 11-on-11 work as the Chiefs prepare for the preseason.

Joe Bleymaier continues to handle the offense on site while Eric Bieniemy remains involved remotely. The Chiefs return to the field Saturday for their 10th practice, with roster battles and injuries becoming the next major focus.

While the team keeps things running without him, the legal side of this story has started to move too.

New details emerge in Eric Bieniemy’s wife’s shooting case

Deputies showed up at Bieniemy’s Ashburn, Virginia house, a place the family’s had since Eric coached in Washington, and found Mia, 57, shot multiple times. Good news is she’s stabilized and out of the ICU now, still healing.

Here’s the twist nobody saw coming: two days before it happened, Elijah called the cops on his own. Per a Loudoun County Sheriff’s report The Athletic got hold of, he complained that his parents wouldn’t give him back his guns, saying, “his parents are withholding his weapons and that he’s a certified UFC fighter so now he feels like he cannot defend himself.”

He also said they wouldn’t let him take his firearms to the range and had basically told him: hand over the guns if you want to keep living here, you’ll get them back when you actually need them. Cops flagged the call as urgent but not an emergency.

On the court side, things just got pushed back. Both his motions hearing and the preliminary hearing scheduled for August 31 are on hold now while a judge-ordered competency evaluation happens.

His lawyers say he’s previously been diagnosed with a serious mental illness and that his state of mind during the shooting is going to be a major piece of his defense. Since he can’t afford to bring in his own expert, the court is handling the evaluation instead.

Through all of this, Eric’s still doing his job, just from a thousand miles away.