Report: Eric Bieniemy Is ‘More Popular’ in Head Coaching Market This Year
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The Kansas City Chiefs are no strangers to having offensive coordinator Eric Bieniemy's name mentioned in conversations about open head coaching vacancies throughout the league, and that hype train is picking up steam once again.
In an article from Jeremy Fowler and Dan Graziano of ESPN, the two addressed some of the latest news and rumors from around the NFL and also analyzed the upcoming Week 17 slate of games. Graziano mentioned Bieniemy and the Chiefs in the "empty your notebooks" section of the article, reporting that the 53-year-old seems like a more popular name right now than he already has been in recent years. Here's what Graziano wrote:
We weren't hearing his name much at this time last year, and he didn't go for a lot of interviews after the season. But I'd be very surprised if he didn't get at least an interview in Denver, and there are a lot of people I talk to about the coaching carousel who believe this could finally be the year Bienemy gets his shot.
I'm not sure what has changed since last year -- maybe the Chiefs' ability to maintain their high level of offensive performance without Tyreek Hill -- but for some reason he sounds like he's more popular on the circuit this time around.
Bieniemy, now in his fifth season as the Chiefs' offensive coordinator, has interviewed with 14 NFL teams for their open head coaching vacancies over the course of the league's four most recent hiring cycles. He has yet to land that elusive head coaching job despite Doug Pederson being hired by the Philadelphia Eagles after three seasons as the Chiefs' offensive coordinator and Matt Nagy landing with the Chicago Bears after just two years in the same role. After many believed this past offseason would be Bieniemy's time to shine, he ended up returning to Kansas City on another one-year contract for the 2022 campaign.
With Bieniemy and head coach Andy Reid working together to form one of the NFL's best offenses for multiple years in a row, the former has made it obvious that he has what it takes to help lead a team to success. Reid and quarterback Patrick Mahomes have constantly backed Bieniemy as a top-tier candidate who's ready to take the next step, and it helps that the Chiefs' offense remains arguably the top unit in the NFL in the post-Tyreek Hill era.
Time will tell if this cycle will ultimately see Bieniemy become a head coach, but Graziano's report sheds a bit of updated light on how opposing teams may view him. With clubs such as the Denver Broncos, Indianapolis Colts and Carolina Panthers already having questionable long-term head coaching situations and more likely to come, there doesn't project to be a serious shortage of available opportunities.
