Kansas City Chiefs offensive coordinator Eric Bieniemy is in danger of being passed up for a second-straight hiring cycle of NFL head coaches. The possibility of him being left out of the carousel one again has former Chiefs quarterback Alex Smith puzzled.
“It’s ridiculous that he hasn’t been hired yet,” Smith told Terez Paylor of Yahoo Sports. “I know that the interview process is weird with a team still in [the playoffs], but, regardless, I don’t see how you can excuse it.”
Smith spent five seasons with Bieniemy, who was the running backs coach at the time, in Kansas City before he was traded to Washington in 2018. Smith leaned on that experience to describe Bieniemy’s coaching qualities.
“I think Eric’s No. 1 quality – and it was apparent the first time I met him – was his leadership,” Smith continued. “Leadership ability, a true leader of men. He’s a guy that had played for a long time, was a great teacher, commanded respect because he gave respect also.”
Smith also said Bieniemy is the “epitome of the opposite” of the “good luck coaches.” He added he loved the fact Bieniemy brought energy and displayed his passion each day.
There were seven vacancies this offseason around the league. However, only the Houston Texans remain in the market and Bieniemy has yet to land a head coaching spot. It’s surprising to many considering the success Bieniemy has garnered since being promoted to offensive coordinator in 2018.
“There’s not a facet of the game on offense where he hasn’t been incredibly involved with,” Smith said. “From protections, to the run game, to the pass game — he knows it all. He knows this stuff.”
Bieniemy is the latest assistant to blossom in the Andy Reid coaching tree. The same coaching tree that has sprung multiple successful head coaches in the league, including Washington’s Ron Rivera. The Reid tree also includes the Bears’ Matt Nagy, Bills’ Sean McDermott, and a pair of Super Bowl-winning head coaches John Harbaugh of the Ravens and Doug Pederson formerly of the Eagles.
Yet, Bieniemy has not received the benefit of the doubt of such a superb track record.
“And then obviously, to have been in that system, to have been kind of groomed and brought up with all those guys — certainly with Andy [Reid] but certainly to see Doug [Pederson] and Nags [Matt Nagy] — I don’t see how you could be more ready,” Smith said.
As the openings have closed, Bieniemy was one of four candidates recently interviewed by the Texans. However, he has the backing of disgruntled franchise QB Deshaun Watson. Meanwhile, Bieniemy will turn his attention to preparing Patrick Mahomes and the rest of the Chiefs offense for their straight AFC Championship Game appearance with a trip to a second Super Bowl on the line.
