Kansas City Chiefs’ Eric Bieniemy affirms: ‘Obviously, yes, I want to be a head coach’
Another NFL head-coaching vacancy has been filled, and another pro football franchise has passed over Eric Bieniemy.
This again?
For three years now, the Chiefs offensive coordinator has been called in for job interviews. For three years now, he’s been able to only keep the one he holds.
It’s not for a lack of desire — he’s made that much clear. Yes, Bieniemy wants to be a head coach. Even called it a dream.
But one not yet realized. In the latest news, the Philadelphia Eagles hired former Chiefs assistant coach Nick Sirianni as their new head coach, replacing former Chiefs offensive coordinator Doug Pederson while bypassing the chance to hire another Chiefs offensive coordinator.
That leaves just one head-coaching vacancy in the league — that of the Houston Texans.
One more chance for Bieniemy in 2021.
Or one more season without a chance.
Bieniemy interviewed for half a dozen jobs during this hiring cycle, his third turn in the mix.
“It’s always good to be mentioned and having an opportunity to pursue your dreams,” Bieniemy said Thursday. “And obviously, yes, I want to be a head coach. But when it’s all said and done with, my job is to make sure everything that we’re doing right now is not to take away the goals that we’re trying to accomplish. ... We want to make sure that we’re getting our guys ready to make sure they can take care of business on Sunday.
“My own personal business, when all that’s time to take care of itself, that will take care of itself.”
It echoes statements that Bieniemy has been repeating, ad nauseam now, for three hiring cycles.
And the only reason you might be tired of hearing the rhetoric is because it’s still relevant. This story won’t end because no franchise will put an end to it. He’s mentioned to be in the mix for jobs. Interviewed for those jobs. And then passed up in favor of someone else. And so it continues.
The NFL employs only four minority coaches. Among the six changes this offseason, one has gone to a minority — the Jets hired Robert Saleh, an Arab American.
That Bieniemy, a Black man, remains without an opportunity to lead a franchise has prompted a search for reasons other than his race. He’s been critiqued for not being the Chiefs’ primary play-caller, a duty that falls to head coach Andy Reid, but the latest two NFL hires would seem to debunk that being some sort of disqualifier. The Detroit Lions hired Saints tight end coach Dan Campbell, who did not have those responsibilities, and Sirianni did not call the plays in his duties as the Indianapolis Colts’ offensive coordinator.
And by the way, Bieniemy’s two predecessors in his job with the Chiefs, Pederson and Matt Nagy, were both hired to be head coaches. Pederson served as Reid’s offensive coordinator for three years, Nagy for just one before the Bears plucked him away. Only Houston can prevent Bieniemy from embarking on a fourth season in the role. In his first three, the Chiefs have finished first, sixth and first in the NFL in total yards.
The Chiefs would be happy to have him back, but rarely has a coach so adamantly begged other franchises to pluck one of his most valued assets. Reid has long vouched for Bieniemy — at one point last year repeating “hire this man” in one of his news conferences — and echoed the message once more this week.
“Everybody knows what I think of Eric and what kind of head coach he’d be,” Reid said. “Maybe the best thing I can tell you is I hope he goes to the NFC when he has that opportunity.
“Whoever gets him, I think, is a very lucky organization. One of the few people I’ve come across with the leadership skills that he has (and) the ability to lead men in this crazy game that we’re in and for those guys through his leadership to play at the Pro Bowl.”
This story was originally published January 21, 2021 at 2:43 PM.