The Houston Texans better watch the AFC Championship Game Sunday at 5:40 p.m. CT between the Kansas City Chiefs and the Buffalo Bills.
The conference title game is a showdown between two Texans coaching candidates as Bills defensive coordinator Leslie Frazier seeks to shutdown Chiefs offensive coordinator Eric Bieniemy.
If Frazier is able to stop the league’s No. 1 offense and sixth-best scoring offense, it will show that he has the capability to fix the Texans’ defense. The offensive side of the ball is fine. Perhaps the club needs to upgrade at running back, but quarterback Deshaun Watson’s elite play despite losing receiver Will Fuller for the last five games proved the team doesn’t need a full rebuild. They just need to provide a defense that procure takeaways and force teams to scrounge for points.
The Chiefs winning would only add another underline to what Bieniemy has been able to accomplish with Kansas City. Indeed he was the offensive coordinator for quarterback Patrick Mahomes’ MVP and Super Bowl MVP campaigns, but now his talent as a coach would be undeniable if he were to help lead Kansas City to consecutive Super Bowl appearances.
According to ESPN’s Adam Schefter both Bieniemy and Frazier have begun assembling staffs.
The Houston Texans are expected to request second interviews with Buffalo Bills defensive coordinator Leslie Frazier and Kansas City Chiefs offensive coordinator Eric Bieniemy after Sunday’s AFC Championship Game, sources told ESPN.
Both candidates believe they have a legitimate chance to land the Texans’ head-coaching job and have begun assembling coaching staffs in the event that they are hired, sources said.
Frazier is said to have had a strong interview with the Texans and has previous head-coaching experience from his time with the Minnesota Vikings. Bieniemy is viewed in many circles as a head coach in waiting, though he has recently been passed over by several teams.
The side that prevails Sunday may not only qualify for the Big Game, but one of their top coordinators may be headed to Houston to help a 4-12 team in 2020 get back on track with a franchise quarterback still under contract through 2025.
