Eric Bieniemy’s naysayers proven wrong by Chiefs’ actions

In some ways, the doubts swirling around Eric Bieniemy were understandable for a hot minute.

In his fourth offseason in the National Football League as the Chiefs offensive coordinator, Bieniemy had experienced even fewer invites to the tables of respective organizations than in previous years—with only the Denver Broncos and New Orleans Saints as officially interested in him as a potential head coaching candidate. And once again, those teams decided to go in another direction when all was said and done.

When a person tries to do anything 15 or so times and fails, it’s natural to wonder if he will ever be able to do so. And so the doubts set in about Eric Bieniemy. As we said, it’s understandable—at least to a point.

Any naysayers of Eric Bieniemy’s value to the Kansas City Chiefs were proven wrong with the team’s decision to welcome him back.

Here’s the thing about Bieniemy’s case, however. No one outside of those interview rooms, no one situated outside of Arrowhead Stadium ever knew of anything factually off or wrong about Bieniemy. We just knew that he seemed overqualified compared to some candidates and yet unable to get a job. That’s all that was known.

It was at this point that assumptions were made, and the naysayers began to fill in the blanks on their own.

• Suddenly, Bieniemy has an interview problem despite the dozens of public-facing interviews Bieniemy has over the years with Chiefs media or other types, displaying his confidence and knowledge and charisma. .
• Suddenly, Bieniemy has no real impact on the team’s offense while others blame him for the offensive downfalls in the postseason, especially the second-half meltdown. One side wants to give him no credit and the other side only wants him to take credit for the team’s failures.
• Suddenly, Bieniemy’s background is too toxic for teams to handle even as other candidates with troubled pasts have no problem scoring new gigs.

Most recently, there were concerns expressed among fans that Bieniemy was toxic even for the Chiefs and that a divorce was inevitable. Suddenly, Bieniemy was now at odds with Patrick Mahomes and Andy Reid. Suddenly, the offensive pillars were all frustrated with one another. Odd sources were quoted and sideline interactions were interpreted.

For all the naysaying, however, actions speak louder than words and with a single choice, the Chiefs expressed the reality of the situation. They brought back Eric Bieniemy when they didn’t have to.

Bieniemy’s contract was up this offseason and both sides could have easily sidestepped the other if they wanted to spend some time apart. If Bieniemy felt like his own progress was thwarted by the Chiefs’ success, he could have chased other opportunities either with a lateral move or a head coaching role at the collegiate level or even by taking a year away to see what better opportunities opened up.

For the Chiefs, if Bieniemy had somehow turned toxic or, even worse, inept, after a decade on the sidelines in Kansas City, with an offense that had averaged 36 points per game through the postseason, they could have walked away. And Bieniemy could have saved face by claiming he wanted to try something new. Everyone would have understood. No one would have looked bad. It was the ideal timing for a divorce—if either side had ever wanted such a thing.

By welcoming back Bieniemy for another season—his 10th with Reid—the Chiefs proved Bieniemy’s naysayers wrong. Suddenly, the clouds over his ability to make decisions, to handle calls, to get along with staff or players, or to provide value or fresh perspective to the offense were all lifted. For a team that had made it to four straight conference championship games, Bieniemy was a guy they wanted back.

While there is still a lot that we don’t know at this point—namely, why NFL franchises continue to spurn Bieniemy’s attempts at getting a head coaching gig—what we do know is that Bieniemy’s naysayers have little to hold onto.

Not that they had ever had anything to substance to begin with.