Bieniemy has shifted his attention away from the head-coaching searches and onto the Cleveland Browns.
As head-coaching vacancies around the NFL have started to be filled, it’s beginning to look like Kansas City Chiefs OC Eric Bieniemy will once again be passed over for an opportunity.
Two jobs that Bieniemy has interviewed for, the New York Jets and the Jacksonville Jaguars, have both officially settled on head-coaching candidates. The Jets hired San Francisco 49ers DC Robert Saleh and the Jaguars hired former Ohio State HC Urban Meyer.
Other jobs that Bieniemy interviewed for, such as the Detroit Lions, Atlanta Falcons and Los Angeles Chargers haven’t made an official hire yet. However, reports have named top targets for each team, several remaining in the playoffs, none-of-whom are Bieniemy. The Lions have their sights set on New Orleans Saints TE coach Dan Campbell. The Falcons have reportedly offered their job to Tennessee Titans OC Arther Smith. The Chargers are said to have very serious interest in Buffalo Bills OC Brian Daboll.
Since interviewing for each of these five jobs, Bieniemy has declined to comment on the process. He’s turned his focus entirely to the Cleveland Browns, as he should, in preparation for the upcoming divisional round of the playoffs.
“Let me just say this, first of all, it was an honor and a privilege,” Bieniemy told reporters of interviewing for HC vacancies. “But that’s not what we’re here for. We’re here to talk about the Cleveland Browns. And you’ve heard us talk about this before, we eliminate all distractions. At the end of the day, my focus and attention is on the Cleveland Browns. This is a great team and they’re playing some great ball. They’ve got some young guys up front that are playing tremendous. They’ve got some guys in the second level with those backers and they’ve got a heck of a secondary group, one of those guys we’re very familiar with. So, we’re looking forward to this challenge. I know our guys are fired up and excited. They’re refreshed, they’ve hit the reset button. Now it’s time to get out there and produce and show exactly what we’re about.”
As it stands, Bieniemy potentially has one more interview ahead of him. The Houston Texans requested an interview, but due to the NFL’s anti-tampering policy, that interview cannot take place until the Chiefs win Super Bowl LV or lose in the playoffs.
The hard truth is that Bieniemy has now been passed over for other candidates in each of the last three coaching cycles. One of those teams, the New York Jets, has now passed over Bieniemy twice. We can speculate plenty on a number of reasons why he’s been passed over. At some point, it feels like something has got to give for Bieniemy, though.
By the end of the postseason, the NFL could be allowing a two-time Super Bowl offensive coordinator to maintain his post for four consecutive seasons without a promotion. Perhaps the biggest thing he can do for a job interview is to continue to contribute toward the Chiefs’ ability to win. If the league continues to miss the boat on a proven winner, Kansas City will continue to capitalize. As deserving as Bieniemy is to run his own team, Chiefs Kingdom can hardly be mad at that outcome.
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