Eric Bieniemy Leaving the Chiefs for the Commanders is Insane
Eric Bieniemy and the Washington Commanders reportedly have "mutual interest" according to NFL Network's Ian Rapoport. No, Bieniemy has not been offered the head coaching job. They want him to be offensive coordinator. Seriously. Bieniemy has been the offensive coordinator in Kansas City since 2018 and has helped the Chiefs make five consecutive AFC Championship games and been calling plays for two teams that won the Super Bowl and the best he can get is the same job on a different team.
Sources: The #Commanders and #Chiefs OC Eric Bieniemy have mutual interest and it’s trending in the right direction toward him being their new coordinator. Both sides are working through specifics, but Bieniemy is the top choice. If all goes well, this should be official today. pic.twitter.com/55qiJdOGPQ
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) February 17, 2023
It was bad enough when he got passed over by the entire NFL after the Chiefs won that first Super Bowl. Maybe the Chiefs did a great job retaining him the first time. Defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo also remains. What has changed? Why would Bieniemy take another coordinator job unless Jeff Bezos has personally guaranteed him the head coaching job when he buys the team. Leaving Andy Reid and Patrick Mahomes to work for Dan Snyder and coach some combination of Taylor Heinicke, Sam Howell, Carson Wentz, Jake Fromm and whatever they can get with the 16th pick makes zero sense.
The only explanation is that Bieniemy thinks Andy Reid is immortal and will coach forever. Or at least until Patrick Mahomes retires. Reid is 64, which is relatively young when your contemporaries are Bill Belichick and Pete Carroll. He must just be sick of waiting around. Being the coordinator under Ron Rivera certainly seems like a clearer path to a head coaching job at this point.
It's just insane that this is the job he has to take. Jonathan Gannon spent just two years as the Eagles defensive coordinator before he became head coach of the Arizona Cardinals earlier this week. You might remember Gannon from such Super Bowls as the one on Sunday where Bieniemy's offense scored on four out of four drives in the second half. Of all the coordinators in that game you're picking the guy whose unit had the worst showing?
Something just doesn't make sense. No one should be put in a position where they work for Dan Snyder. Especially when they're good at their job.