Eric Bieniemy’s head coaching opportunities are diminishing yet again

Just a few weeks ago, it felt like a foregone conclusion that Eric Bieniemy would be packing his bags in Kansas City to take over the reins of another NFL team. The longtime Chiefs assistant coach turned offensive coordinator has been arguably the single hottest name among head coaches-in-waiting for the last three years. After a Super Bowl win last winter, it felt like demand for Bieniemy could bring about a bidding war after being passed over for several jobs in the last year or two.

Instead we’re seeing another round of musical chairs end with Bieniemy left without a place to stand.

On Sunday, the Los Angeles Chargers announced the hiring of L.A. Rams assistant coach Brandon Staley. That came on the heels of other recent head coach hirings for the Atlanta Falcons (Arthur Smith) and New York Jets (Robert Saleh) as well as the rumored decision of the Detroit Lions to go with Dan Campbell of the New Orleans Saints as Matt Patricia’s replacement. Given the arrival of Urban Meyer with the Jacksonville Jaguars, what began as a wide-open slate of seven head coaching openings is now down to two less-than-desirable locations.

The only head coaching vacancies left in the NFL belong to the Houston Texans and the Philadelphia Eagles. If you’ve not paid attention to the league’s also-rans, then you might not recognize the depth of dysfunction in both locales. Deshaun Watson is looking for the quickest ticket away from Houston, a franchise sorely in need of a complete cultural transformation top to bottom—including the owner. As for Philly, they just ran a head coach out of town who won a Super Bowl only three years ago.

Perhaps the desire to run his own team will be enough to overwhelm any concerns for Bieniemy going forward, but that, of course, depends on one of those two remaining teams being interested in the Chiefs O.C. Both have interviewed him (or are scheduled to do so), but plenty of other names are also circulating around both jobs, which means Bieniemy could be passed over by all seven teams this offseason after being overlooked by four last year post-interviews.

The major thing working in Bieniemy’s favor at this point is that he’s the offensive coordinator for the Super Bowl favorites, and his weekly duties include scheming up plays for the game’s best quarterback and some historically good pass catchers. The Chiefs are young and could reel off a dynasty for much of the next decade. No one should feel too bad for Bieniemy if he has to stay and be a part of the Chiefs long-term success.

Still, Andy Reid has been cheering as loudly as he can for his right hand man to finally leave the nest for his own head coaching opportunity for good reason. Bieniemy is ambitious and he’s proved just about all that he can in his current role. Reid isn’t going anywhere and Bieniemy is hungry, like most men in his position, to take over his own team. He certainly deserves that chance.

For now, however, it looks as if his opportunities to do so in 2021 are diminishing like they have in previous seasons. Two more teams hold the key to stopping this slide but it’s hard to predict at this point what will happen given the unexpected slights Bieniemy has received all along.