Getty Eric Bieniemy before a Chiefs game in 2019.
It hasn’t even been a week since the Detroit Lions fired Matt Patricia, and already, their future could be coming into a bit of focus for the 2021 season and beyond.
There’s work left to be done as it relates to getting to this point in terms of the front office, but it’s possible that a few names are already surging to the top of Detroit’s coaching list. Robert Saleh has already emerged as a potential favorite, and now Eric Bieniemy might also have some potential interest in the Detroit opening.
According to former Detroit News columnist Terry Foster, folks around the league are telling him that Bieniemy is interested in the Detroit job, and could consider bringing Clemson offensive coordinator Tony Elliott with him into the league to call plays. Foster posted this nugget in a recent update on his blog regarding coaching searches he covered in the past.
The Lions will have to get their general manager in the building first before a coaching hire takes place, but if it’s true that Bieniemy would be receptive to the team’s opening, that would be a huge plus for the Lions as they begin thinking about the hiring process. Potentially bringing a highly-regarded name like Elliott into the mix would be a boon as well considering what he’s done at the college level.
This is now another name and scenario to watch in Detroit.
Eric Bieniemy’s Fit With Lions
There’s no question that Bieniemy is going to be one of the most coveted candidates this offseason and arguably the coach who gets the most love on the open market this offseason on plenty of fronts for plenty of openings. Why does Bieniemy make sense for the Lions? He’s the top offensive mind on the market and the Lions are coming off an experiment with a defensive minded head coach in Matt Patricia. In the event the Lions want to keep Matthew Stafford, Bieniemy could be a great mind to help him over to the next level. Should the Lions start over at quarterback, he could help in that discussion as well. He fits both the rebuild and win now approach, which is what the Lions could be looking to mesh in the next few years.
Bieniemy has done a nice job with Kansas City’s offense through the years, and one of his criticisms would likely be the fact that Andy Reid has been an offensive genius during his time in the league. Hiring Elliott, however, would ensure that Bieniemy would be giving himself a chance to create his own offensive identity moving forward.
Eric Bieniemy and John Dorsey Could Be Package Deal
The Lions have to fill a general manager job as well in the weeks ahead, and there could be an interesting name on the market to do this and potentially combine with Bieniemy when all is said and done. According to Matt Lombardo of Fansided, sources have said that John Dorsey and Bieniemy could be a package deal during the offseason, and Dorsey figures to draw plenty of interest for general manager jobs this cycle.
Could the duo combine in Detroit to take over the Lions? There’s been no rumor of that concretely happening as of yet, but it might make a lot of sense. With Bieniemy’s rumored interest in the job already potentially surfacing on a micro level, it could also be closer to being possible than many would have thought.
Obviously, it’s just another scenario to remember heading through December into January as the coaching carousel begins to spin in earnest.
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