Chiefs offensive coordinator Eric Bieniemy

Status: Requested interview

Pros: Bieniemy has been the offensive coordinator for Kansas City for the last two seasons. During that time, the Chiefs have had the league’s top offense. They rank third in offensive DVOA this year after finishing first by a mile in 2018 when Patrick Mahomes won the MVP award after throwing for 50 touchdowns and over 5,000 yards. Bieniemy’s background is as a running back and that’s the position he’s spent most of his coaching career on. That could work as a force multiplier for the Panthers, who have a singular athlete at that spot in Christian McCaffrey.

Cons: It’s difficult to gauge how much of the Chiefs’ success is due to Bieniemy and how much of it is the talent around him, beginning with the head coach. Andy Reid has an outstanding offensive mind and sometimes assistants who get out from under extremely successful coaches like Reid don’t do nearly as well. Kansas City also has a ludicrous amount of play-makers, including the fastest player in the sport and a QB with as much arm talent as anyone who’s ever done it. The Panthers don’t have anywhere near the firepower the Chiefs have, so Bieniemy will have to be a special play-caller indeed to get similar results. This would also be Bieniemy’s first experience as a head coach.