Eric Bieniemy faces significant offseason decision about coaching future

When will Eric Bieniemy find some traction?

At this point, the scenario(s) in front of Eric Bieniemy is almost laughable—only because it's so ridiculously confusing and seemingly unfair that there's no other way to respond since we've already tried frustration, sadness, and anger on behalf of the former Kansas City Chiefs offensive coordinator.

In a league where lesser men have been promoted and tired options have been recycled, somehow Bieniemy remains on the outside looking in of any and all head coaching roles for which he has interviewed. And now that's apparently become true for coordinator roles as well.

What will the longtime offensive coordinator seek out for his next role?

Just last year, Bieniemy faced a difficult decision of whether or not to leave the Chiefs for a new team in order to escape the shadow of working with Andy Reid, Patrick Mahomes, and company. The argument went that if he could prove his mettle elsewhere, it might eliminate the final doubts about his head coaching readiness and then he would get hired.

With greater goals in mind for establishing a broader network and body of experience, Bieniemy left Reid for Ron Rivera and the Washington Commanders. It turned out to be the wrong move. While there were some nice offensive moments and developments, the season overall was a disaster for the franchise, and the entire coaching staff was fired at season's end. The only positive in Washington 2023 was the sale of the franchise by Daniel Snyder to a new ownership group.

So where does Bieniemy go now? That's anyone's guess at this point. Bieniemy did return to the Chiefs for a visit before the AFC Championship game but the cupboards in K.C. feel full with a developing young offensive staff anchored by a former head coach in Matt Nagy next to Reid—a living legend at this point.

On a recent episode of the Pat McAfee Show, NFL reporter Adam Schefter recently sat down to talk about the latest buzz he's hearing on Bieniemy.

"He was up for a few different roles. First of all, he interviewed for the head coaching job in Washington," said Schefter. "There were offensive coordinator jobs that he was very quietly involved with that ultimately he didn’t get in the end."

McAfee went on to press Schefter for some jobs that didn't work out, but the only one Schefter knew specifics on—or was willing to discuss—was the Seattle Seahawks OC job that went to Alabama's Ryan Grubb. However, he did say there was more and he detailed why fans haven't heard more about Bieniemy.

"It just hasn’t gotten a lot of attention. He’s done a really nice job of keeping things quiet and going about his business, but he’s been in play for a lot of these jobs. I would imagine this year, obviously, he can take some time and decide whether he wants to keep coaching and take a role with a team in some kind of—I don’t know what it would be—assistant head coaching role or advisory role or consulting role or take some time and then come back strong the following year."

You can see the whole interview below: