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Eric Bieniemy, once highly sought-after NFL head coaching prospect, out at UCLA as offensive coordinator

5 December 2024 at 13:43

Eric Bieniemy and the school parted ways after just one season as the offensive coordinator at UCLA.

Bieniemy’s agent, Jason Fletcher, said his plan was to always return to the NFL after a year in college football.

"Eric and UCLA mutually parted ways today as previously planned. He’s still getting paid by the Commanders. After interviewing for head coaching jobs last year, he wanted to stay active and busy. So, he decided to go help out Deshaun Foster, who is like his little brother, at UCLA as opposed to sitting out a year. The plan was always to return to the NFL in 2025, and he’s looking forward to the opportunities ahead," Fletcher said in a statement obtained by NFL Network

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Bieniemy, 55, was last in the NFL in 2023, when he was the Washington Commanders' offensive coordinator.

The Commanders went 4-13 last season and were 25th in points per game under Bieniemy, averaging 19.4 points per game. 

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Head coach Ron Rivera was fired at the end of the season, and the coaching staff was dismissed with him. 

Bieniemy ran the Kansas City Chiefs' offense from 2018 to 2022, becoming a hot name in head coaching cycles. 

He only got one head coaching interview out of five openings in the 2022 head coaching cycle and left the Chiefs to go to the Commanders in hopes of having success there and eventually landing a head coaching job. 

UCLA went 5-7 with a 3-6 record in the Big Ten in head coach Deshaun Foster’s first season. The Bruins' offense scored 18.4 points per game as only eight teams in Division 1 college football scored fewer points per game than UCLA. 

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LiAngelo Ball recalls being arrested in China for shoplifting sunglasses from Louis Vuitton store

4 December 2024 at 16:25

LiAngelo Ball, the brother of NBA stars Lonzo and LaMelo Ball, recounted the time he and two other UCLA players were arrested in China after being accused of stealing designer sunglasses in 2017. 

Ball, 26, went to a Louis Vuitton store next to the team’s hotel in Hangzhou and snagged sunglasses while on a trip as a member of the UCLA men’s basketball team.

Ball reflected on the incident during a recent appearance on "Unapologetically Angel" with Angel Reese.

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"I knew it was wrong. I was 18, wrong spot, wrong time, just making quick decisions doing dumb s---, so I don’t know how to explain. Everybody wants me to come up with this long-a-- story. Like, I don’t know how to explain it," Ball said.

"I did what I did, and I knew that s--- was wrong and then that’s that. It’s been seven, eight years. I ain’t been in trouble since."

Ball said he knew right away he had made a mistake.

"I couldn’t think nothing past like, I knew s--- was going to go south. I don’t know, right when I left the store, I’m like, ‘Damn.' I told (my teammates), ’Like, yeah, we done," Ball said. 

"I knew that s--- was f------ wrong, bro."

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President Trump personally asked Xi Jinping, president of the People’s Republic of China, to help resolve the matter regarding Ball and his two teammates, Cody Riley and Jalen Hill, Fox News reported at the time.

"To the three UCLA basketball players I say: You’re welcome, go out and give a big Thank You to President Xi Jinping of China who made…

" …your release possible and, HAVE A GREAT LIFE! Be careful, there are many pitfalls on the long and winding road of life!" Trump wrote in separate social media posts in 2017. 

After his career at UCLA, Ball was not chosen in the 2018 NBA Draft. Ball played overseas in the Lithuanian Basketball League in 2018 instead of going to the NBA.

He played with the Los Angeles Ballers of the Junior Basketball Association, which was a league founded by his father, Lavar Ball.

Ball then spent time in the NBA G-League from 2021-2023. Ball signed an Exhibit 10 contract with the Detroit Pistons in 2020 but was waived shortly after signing.

The Charlotte Hornets signed him in 2021 and 2022, but he was waived shortly after being signed both times. Ball has not appeared in an NBA regular-season game. 

Ball’s brothers, LaMelo and Lonzo, are both in the NBA. LaMelo plays for the Charlotte Hornets and Lonzo plays for the Chicago Bulls.

Fox News' Brooke Singman contributed to this report. 

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