Kansas City Chiefs OC Eric Bieniemy has interviewed with 12 teams for a head-coaching position over the last three postseasons. Now, it appears he may have finally found a landing spot to become an NFL head coach.
According to a new report from NFL Network’s Steve Wyche, Bieniemy had a “strong” interview with the Atlanta Falcons on Monday. The Kansas City offensive coordinator remains very much “in the mix” for the head-coaching job in Atlanta. This comes amid rumors that Bieniemy hadn’t been interviewing well during the course of the head-coaching interview process.
Wyche’s source, who was a participant in the hours-long interview between Bieneimy and the Falcons, said that Bieniemy was “prepared, knew everything about the team, had a great plan and is a bona fide candidate.” Bieniemy has recent familiarity with the Falcons as they played the Chiefs back in Week 16. Kansas City squeaked out a win after a failed game-tying field goal by Atlanta.
Wyche’s sources also cited strong recommendations from league officials, players and officials from other teams as reasons for why Bieniemy remains an attractive option. We already know that Andy Reid and Patrick Mahomes have been campaigning for Bieniemy to get an opportunity.
The Falcons fired their head coach of the last six seasons, Dan Quinn, along with GM Thomas Dimitroff back in October after an 0-5 start to the season. Interim HC Raheem Morris took over and coached Atlanta to a 4-12 record on the year. In addition to Bieniemy, the Falcons also have interviewed Morris, Panthers OC Joe Brady, 49ers DC Robert Saleh, and Packers OC Nathaniel Hackett.
This would be a good landing spot for Bieniemy. They have some pieces on both offense and defense. It’s outside of the AFC conference, so he won’t have to contend with his old team often. Atlanta’s owner Arthur Blank is the type that would buy into his vision and give him the type of autonomy that he needs to be successful.
