With the 2022 NFL season near its close, Kansas City Chiefs offensive coordinator Eric Bieniemy’s name is once again coming up in talks surrounding the offseason head-coaching carousel.
Bieniemy has interviewed for 15 NFL head-coaching jobs since the 2019 NFL offseason. Each time he’s been passed over for another candidate, but this time around things could be different for Bieniemy. In a recent article from ESPN insiders Jeremy Fowler and Dan Graziano, they suggest that Bieniemy has been a popular name during the early talks centered around this head-coaching cycle:
Even though the past couple of cycles have been disappointing for Chiefs offensive coordinator Eric Bieniemy, I’m hearing his name a lot as someone who will be of interest to teams looking for a head coach this offseason. 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.
Speaking to media members on Wednesday, Chiefs HC Andy Reid weighed in on Bieniemy’s head-coaching candidacy. He praised the NFL for their offseason accelerator program, citing it as something that could be important for Bieniemy in the future.
“Yeah so, the league actually did that for the assistants, some of the assistant coaches that had potential opportunities to become head coaches,” Reid said. “I thought they did a nice job of that this offseason, getting together with the owners. To me, that was the difference, (it was) more of a casual setting. Not, ‘I have to hire this guy right now.’ Get to know them. I appreciated that. I thought that was a good thing for (Offensive Coordinator) Eric (Bieniemy). I know what he can do. I’ve said it 100 times. I haven’t changed my opinion on that.”
Bieniemy too thought the setting of the accelerator program was beneficial. While he’s entirely focused on the Denver Broncos and Week 17, he spoke a bit on the benefit of the accelerator program with reporters on Thursday.
“I thought the league did a heck of a job with the accelerator program this spring,” Bieniemy said. “It was great to be a part of that. Obviously, it was a number of coaches and a number of personnel people. It was a great experience. I thought it went well, but right now, that took place in the spring and I’m where my feet are. The only thing I can control is today — and it’s situational football day. It’s third down day, so we’ve got to make sure we get back on track.”
As the team prepares for Denver, Reid is reminded that this is the latest team with a head-coaching vacancy. It’s a potential opportunity for Bieniemy in the future, but Reid is hoping that his offensive coordinator ends up elsewhere.
“So, I hope he gets an opportunity,” Reid said of Bieniemy. “I’d rather not have it at Denver, but I hope he gets an opportunity.”
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