UCLA fired offensive coordinator Eric Bieniemy on Thursday, although his camp has a different story.

ESPN and Yahoo Sports initially reported that UCLA had released Bieniemy, although his agent, Jason Fletcher, has denied that the split was not mutual.

“Eric and UCLA parted ways today as planned,” Fletcher said in a statement. “He is still being paid by the commanders. After applying for the head coaching job last year, he wanted to stay active and busy. So he decided to help Deshaun Foster, who is like his little brother, at UCLA instead of sitting out a year.

“The plan was always to return to the NFL in 2025 and he is excited about the opportunities ahead.”

ESPN also reports that offensive coach Juan Castillo will also be relieved of his duties.

Saying this is mutual is pretty strange considering he reportedly took a $1.2 million buyout on his contract.

Bieniemy, a former NFL running back like Foster, was the recruiting coordinator for UCLA from 2003 to 2005 and was the maestro credited with finding future NFL star Maurice Jones-Drew.

Foster and UCLA hoped Bieniemy would use his NFL experience as offensive coordinator for the multiple Super Bowl champion Chiefs to develop that side of the ball and attract top recruits.

The result was a disaster, no matter how much his agent tried to hype it up.

The Bruins ranked 126th nationally in points per game, and 247 Sports rates their recruiting class as the 50th best in the country, behind the likes of Houston, West Virginia and North Carolina State.

Her recruiting rank was 90 in 2024 and 37 in 2023.

The Bruins went 5-7 after going 8-4 and 9-3 the previous two years.

Bieniemy previously served as the Washington Commanders’ offensive coordinator before being fired after one season.

He was the Chiefs’ offensive coordinator from 2018 to 2022 but has yet to get a head coaching opportunity, despite leading Kansas City’s offense and Patrick Mahomes’ development largely under the tutelage of Andy Reid.