The last two seasons in the head coach job market has seen plenty of vacancies. It just hasn’t been favorable for Kansas City Chiefs offensive coordinator Eric Bieniemy. Despite being part of the mastermind behind the league’s top offense over the past three seasons, Bieniemy continues to be passed over for head coaching jobs around the league.
Bieniemy’s circumstances, however, haven’t deterred his efforts in continuing to push Kansas City’s offense to new heights. The former NFL running back has continued to earn praise amongst his fellow coaches, including Andy Reid and the many players that he’s coordinated.
Bieniemy recently spoke with CBS Sports writer Jason La Canfora to discuss his lack of head coaching opportunities and his continued desire to head a team.
“At the end of the day, like I always tell folks, I don’t allow anything to dictate my outcome or my future,” said Bieniemy, “So the only thing we can do, alright, is to continue going back to work and to continue chopping wood. And when it’s all said and done, we all are blessed to be placed in the situations that we are in because — first and foremost — we do have a job. I am blessed and fortunate to be working with a Hall of Fame head coach. On top of that, the quarterback (Patrick Mahomes) ain’t bad, either. And we’ve had a great deal of success since we’ve been here. So I’m not complaining at all. Would I like to be a head coach? Yes, I would. But you know what, it’s going to happen, at the right place, with the right people, at the right time.”
The Chiefs have annually been featured atop of most NFL offensive categories while Bieniemy has served as offensive coordinator. He can be credited with helping to develop superstar quarterback Patrick Mahomes, but he’s graciously stayed away from accepting the praise. During the interview, last week at the annual QB coaching summit, Bieniemy talked about not feeling frustrated after being overlooked in consecutive head coach searches.
“Here is the thing,” Bieniemy said, “because of the success that we’ve had, I don’t have time to get frustrated. Because I have to get up and go to work the next day, we do this for a reason — we coach football to be the very best that we can. And for the past few years, I have been through the interviewing cycle, and it hasn’t gone my way. But I have had something that can occupy my time through that whole entire process — I had to get up and go to work the next day to make sure that we are continuing to pursue our dream of winning a Super Bowl. So, yes, you get a little disappointed, and yes, ideally, you want to get that opportunity to say, ‘I’m a head coach.’ But if it doesn’t happen, I can’t allow that to dictate anything else because when it’s all said and done, I have to be at my best so the players can be at their best. So when it’s all said and done, I don’t have time to waste on emotions that I cannot control based on an opinion that’s been formulated.”
The NFL has consistently promoted the importance of having more African American head coaches, but the numbers are still not on par with the number of white coaches traditionally hired. Bieniemy has remained positive throughout the disappointments, but eventually, his name needs to be called and rewarded with the opportunity to head a team in this league.