Kansas City Chiefs offensive coordinator Eric Bieniemy has officially completed a total of five interviews for head-coaching vacancies.
We’d already learned that Bieniemy completed interviews with both the Atlanta Falcons and the Detroit Lions on Monday. According to ESPN’s Adam Schefter, Bieniemy also completed an interview with the Los Angeles Chargers on Tuesday and wrapped up interviews with the New York Jets and Jacksonville Jaguars today.
Keep in mind that these interviews have all taken place virtually. The NFL is not allowing any in-person interviews to take place until the season has concluded as a way to mitigate any potential COVID-19 exposures.
Chiefs' OC Eric Bieniemy interviewed today for the Jaguars' HC job, as well as the Jets' HC position, per source. Bieniemy interviewed for the Chargers' HC job Tuesday, and Atlanta and Detroit on Monday. He now has interviewed for all teams with HC openings — except the Texans.
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) January 6, 2021
Bieniemy has now interviewed with 5-of-6 teams that have head-coaching vacancies this season. The only team that has surprisingly failed to request a head-coaching interview with Bieniemy is the Houston Texans. They appeared to be a prime landing spot for Bieniemy, but they seem to have different plans, at least for now.
In total, Bieniemy has now interviewed with 12 NFL teams over the course of the past three head-coaching interview cycles. It’s hard to imagine with five teams showing interest this season that he’d be unable to secure a job.
Texans did not request an interview with Chiefs OC Eric Bieniemy, per sources. They are the only team with an HC opening that has not requested nor interviewed him. https://t.co/eTr7mdz0Gb
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) January 6, 2021
So what comes next for Bieniemy? Practice. The Chiefs will return to practice ahead of the divisional round on Thursday and Bieniemy will resume his typical duties within the offense.
If a decision has been made in regards to Bieniemy and head-coaching job for next season, it’s likely that he’s requested that the decision not be made public until the conclusion of the playoff run for Kansas City. It’s also possible that teams will want to meet with candidates face-to-face, which will presumably slow the hiring process this year.
