The Tampa Bay Buccaneers confirmed that they have completed an interview with Kansas City Chiefs offensive coordinator Eric Bieniemy.
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers were second in line for Kansas City Chiefs offensive coordinator Eric Bieniemy, and on Wednesday they confirmed that they’ve completed their interview as they look for a new head coach.
Bieniemy met with the Bucs shortly after doing the same with the New York Jets, who were first out of the gate to meet with the first-year coordinator. The Miami Dolphins are reportedly up next after firing head coach Adam Gase and the Cincinnati Bengals are rumored to also be interested after moving on from longtime head coach Marvin Lewis.
The Arizona Cardinals wanted to be on the list, but they were denied even an interview by Bieniemy who is likely having to pare down his list in order to still attend to his primary responsibilities of preparing the Chiefs for the postseason. Then again, it could just be a lack of interest in coaching for a team who just got rid of their head coach after one year in Steve Wilks.
Bieniemy is only a first-year coordinator, but he’s served under Andy Reid for six full seasons. He also helped to captain the NFL’s most prolific offense in years for the Chiefs in 2018, and Andy Reid’s coaching tree needs no introduction given the tremendous early success of former coordinators like Matt Nagy and Doug Pederson.
Bieniemy would replace another heralded offensive mind in Tampa Bay in Dirk Koetter who was never able to develop a defense to help aid a growing offense. Last year the Bucs finished 31st overall in the NFL in points allowed despite ranking No. 3 in total yards on offense.