Getty Image / Christian Petersen
Eric Bieniemy won another ring as the offensive coordinator of the Kansas City Chiefs this weekend, but it seems that one again won’t be good enough to land him a job as an NFL head coach.
Every head coaching job in the NFL has now been filled, with the last two being filled by Philadelphia Eagles coordinators he beat in the Super Bowl.
Bieniemy’s inability to land a head coaching job has had him interviewing for other offensive coordinator jobs to see if he can prove that he deserves to be a head coach by being successful without Andy Reid.
Unfortunately, at this point in the offseason his options for vacant offensive coordinator positions have become limited.
The Indianapolis Colts, Arizona Cardinals, Philadelphia Eagles, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Philadelphia Eagles, and Washington Commanders are all still searching for an offensive coordinator.
According to NFL insider Ian Rapoport, Bieniemy will be interviewing for the Commanders job tomorrow.
The #Commanders will interview #Chiefs OC Eric Bieniemy tomorrow for their still-vacant OC job, source said. He's a top candidate. They spoke with Greg Roman yesterday, which went well, and have no other interviews scheduled.
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) February 15, 2023
Taking that job would be a huge risk for Eric Bieniemy.
First of all, his starting quarterback would be Sam Howell, who is very unproven and was a 5th round pick a year ago. It is a very real possibility that the Commanders’ offense won’t be very good again next year regardless of who their offensive coordinator is.
There is also the chance that Bieniemy could not get a 2nd year if things don’t go well in the first. Head coach Ron Rivera doesn’t have a ton of job security right now and the franchise is expected to be a sold. A new owner could come in and opt for a completely fresh start for the coaching staff.
Even if Bieniemy does get a 2nd year, he could be coaching a rookie quarterback. Even if that QB is Drake Maye or Caleb Williams, is either one of them making the offense good enough for Bieniemy to get a job as a head coach?
At that point you could be looking at Bieniemy having to hold his new job for 3 years to become a head coach.
Meanwhile, he could have spent that time continuing to win rings with the Chiefs until somebody is ready to give him a chance.
If the move to the Commanders didn’t work out the way he wanted, he may never end up in as great of a situation as his current one with the Chiefs.
There have been some jobs, like the Ravens OC job, that could have been interesting opportunities for him, but the Washington Commanders might just be too much of a risk for him.