3 Denver Broncos head coach options the team must avoid in 2023
2. Eric Bieniemy, OC, Kansas City Chiefs
Over the years, it’s become very apparent that NFL teams have agreed on one thing — not to hire Kansas City Chiefs offensive coordinator Eric Bieniemy. It’s an annual tradition at this point for NFL fans and analysts alike to complain about that very fact.
Why in the world doesn’t Eric Bieniemy have a head coaching gig?
A branch off the Andy Reid tree? Check.
One of the guys in the building during Patrick Mahomes’ development and meteoric rise to NFL superstardom? Check.
The top assistant coach on the top offense in the NFL? Check.
There seems to be a lot going for Eric Bieniemy on paper and yet he continually gets passed up for jobs around the league. Let’s look at some insight as to why that might be…
Bieniemy has had 8 interviews and no offers.
— Benjamin Allbright (@AllbrightNFL) January 27, 2022
It's a combination of a very problematic background + a horrendous tenure as an OC at Colorado + perception that KC success is largely Reid and Mahomes + not selling any team that he's the guy. https://t.co/fPEeklS8AK
This isn’t just a “2022” thing, either. This has been going on for years…
Reports coming out that Eric Bieniemy didn’t have a good interview with the Falcons.
— Pro Football Network (@PFN365) January 9, 2021
Flash back to 2019 when PFN Insider @AllbrightNFL reported that Bieniemy hadn’t impressed during interviews.
Allbright repeated this on PFN Weekly a few weeks ago.https://t.co/SML0deKcHj
So what’s the deal here? There’s also this:
Interesting read. Certainly backs up many of the things @AllbrightNFL has been reporting on regarding Eric Bieniemy over the past few years. The article even cites a moment from Bieniemy’s interview with #Broncos George Paton last month. @1_ChiefsKingdom https://t.co/n0gQtkxnh4 https://t.co/jPUKg4lZJw pic.twitter.com/gDRNcdWptI
— Ryan Edwards (@redwardsradio) February 17, 2022
"“Broncos GM George Paton asked Bieniemy point blank in his interview about a situation he saw while in Kansas City earlier this season. The answer from Bieniemy eliminated him from job contention.”"
That is a direct reference specifically to Bieniemy’s interview with the Denver Broncos just last year. I don’t know what’s going on with all of this, but all signs seem to point to this not being the right fit for whatever reason(s).