KANSAS CITY, Mo. _ Writing this column has been considered and dismissed a half-dozen times in the last few weeks. Thought about because Chiefs assistant Eric Bieniemy has a better resume than many who've been hired as NFL head coaches over the years. Dismissed because, surely, the topic would have a short shelf-life.
Surely, the next man up on football's most productive coaching tree would get a job after interviewing with nearly a quarter of the league in the last year.
Surely, the offensive coordinator of the NFL's most productive offense over the last two years would be hired away.
Surely, a man with a nine-year playing career, 12 years as an NFL assistant, and the consensus respect of his players would be a hell of a hire.
Instead, Bieniemy waits, left deflecting questions about why he keeps being passed over when asked at his weekly press conference as the Chiefs prepare for a divisional round playoff game against the Houston Texans at Arrowhead Stadium on Sunday.
"I'm gonna put this out there," Bieniemy said. "It's time to play against the Houston Texans. You guys know me, all right? My focus is on the Houston Texans. One thing I want our guys to realize: we don't want to go backward to have to go forward."
Bieniemy is the unwitting protagonist in one of the NFL's hottest debates this week. Over the last year he has interviewed with seven teams and been passed over for (deep breath) a quarterbacks coach, a special teams coach, a college head coach, a fired college head coach, and two fired NFL head coaches. Objectively, all but the two recycled NFL coaches (Ron Rivera and Bruce Arians) had less experience than Bieniemy.
The Browns job remains open, and Bieniemy remains a candidate. But that franchise cast a wide net, and various reports have not tabbed Bieniemy as a favorite _ even though his combination of offensive prowess and success managing personalities would seem to make him a near-perfect candidate.
This is endlessly complicated. There will always be more people qualified to be head coaches than available jobs, and any of the above specific hires can be reasonably explained. But when examined more broadly those explanations become more difficult.
This is a topic in football circles, even among people who work for teams still in the playoffs. Background conversations with three people in the industry this week each turned to two explanations.
First, with quarterbacks more important than ever teams are putting more emphasis on those with a history of working closely with quarterbacks. Bieniemy coaches the Chiefs' quarterbacks _ his is the voice in Mahomes' helmet speaker, not Reid's _ but his background is with running backs.
Second, Bieniemy is black. The league employs just three black head coaches, the same number as in 2003, when the so-called Rooney Rule was adopted requiring teams to interview at least one minority candidate.
Whenever race is brought up, productive conversation often ends. Outright racism is not required to curb minority hires. Institutional guardrails exist, including that the league was slow to accept black quarterbacks. Whatever the specific explanations, a league with about 70% black players includes fewer than 10% black head coaches.
Bieniemy was asked if he believes the Rooney Rule is working.
"I had the opportunity to interview, OK?" he said. "That should say it all. It was a great conversation. Now it's onto the game."
Bieniemy's news conference presented a stark irony. His meetings with reporters are often stuffed with cliches, with the meatiest questions passed to head coach Andy Reid, whom Bieniemy is quick to remind "has 51% of the vote."
We can't know how he presents himself in interviews, but some on the outside have wondered if an offensive coordinator subverting himself on questions about the offense could be a red flag for a potential new employer.
Well, on Thursday he was something else entirely. He used the questions about the interviews and the interviews with themselves to make a more specific point, one that he's emphasized to his players.
How often does a coach talk about eliminating distractions? Normally it's about young players focusing on football instead of money or women or social media or whatever else.
But here, with Bieniemy cast as the main character in a debate bubbling coast to coast, he has a chance to live what he teaches. He can be what he's talked about. He turned his cell phones off, pays the debate minimal attention, and focuses on leading an offense well-positioned for a monstrous postseason.
"You want to enjoy the now," he said. "I'm going to continue saying that. It's about the now. We want our players to stay focused on the now ... Tomorrow doesn't matter. The only thing that matters is the opportunity we have at hand today, and we've got to make sure that we're maximizing this opportunity."
He was a head coach in those moments, is what he was. Bieniemy's greatest strengths are his stubborn focus and work ethic, his grasp of and ambition to learn more about offense, and his next-level ability to have a foot in two leadership worlds _ players love him, and he doesn't let them get away with a thing.
We don't know his private thoughts. We can be reasonably sure they aren't as rosy as he's presenting, that he's not satisfied with having seven interviews and zero offers. But we do know the things he's saying and the actions he's taking are his best way toward becoming a head coach.
That's more than just talk. In some ways, Bieniemy is currently interviewing for next year's openings. The best way to do that is with ownership of the Chiefs' immediate future, and to come to next year's interviews with a Super Bowl championship to talk about.
