Considering their recent run of success under head coach Andy Reid, the Kansas City Chiefs will always be an organization that other NFL teams try to emulate so long as Big Red is present in KC.
That means interview requests from opposing franchises, and two Chiefs assistants appear to be hot commodities this offseason. The first is offensive coordinator Eric Bieniemy, who already interviewed with the Indianapolis Colts for their head coaching position. The other is quarterbacks coach Matt Nagy, a former OC and HC with a wealth of experience.
According to ESPN NFL insider Jeremy Fowler, the Tennessee Titans are interested in both. On January 15, he tweeted: “The Tennessee Titans have requested permission to interview Kansas City Chiefs offensive coordinator Eric Bieniemy and senior assistant/QBs coach Matt Nagy for their open OC job, per sources.”
The Tennessee Titans have requested permission to interview Kansas City Chiefs offensive coordinator Eric Bieniemy and senior assistant/QBs coach Matt Nagy for their open OC job, per sources.
Eric Bieniemy Could Leave Chiefs for HC or OC ‘Promotion’
The Titans have turned into a sort of conference rival of the Chiefs in recent years — being that head coach Mike Vrabel has had a lot of success against Patrick Mahomes II. Having said that, Kansas City did defeat Tennessee in 2022 but it wasn’t easy.
Even without starting quarterback Ryan Tannehill, the Titans took the Chiefs to overtime. Fortunately, Mahomes and KC pulled out the victory by a score of 20-17.
After missing the playoffs in large part due to a struggling offense, Vrabel decided to part ways with offensive coordinator Todd Downing. That created an integral vacancy, and who better to fill that role than someone from the staff of the team to beat in the AFC?
Bieniemy is an interesting name to watch to cycle. If he decides to stay with the Chiefs, he’ll need a new contract after signing a one-year extension last winter.
There have been some rumors that Bieniemy could choose to leave in a lateral move like this one, in an effort to prove himself as a play-caller away from Reid and Mahomes. Of course, he’s also gaining some steam as a potential head coach once again.
If he did leave, Nagy would be the natural choice to replace him — but what if Bieniemy and Nagy both receive offers? The Chiefs could block the latter from being poached with a promotion, but it’ll be hard to protect Bieniemy. They also lost quarterbacks coach Mike Kafka last offseason and may have to choose between two assistants again in 2023.
Either way, these are only interview requests so far but as always, Vrabel is proving to be a difficult adversary. The only difference is — this time he’s creating potential problems away from the football field.
Chiefs Could Face Jaguars in Divisional Round
Nothing is set in stone, but the Chiefs will face the lowest seed in the NFL’s Divisional Round of the playoffs. That means if the Buffalo Bills and Cincinnati Bengals both take care of business on January 15, Kansas City would play Trevor Lawrence and the Jacksonville Jaguars after their unlikely comeback over the Los Angeles Chargers.
Despite throwing four interceptions, the up-and-coming Lawrence was able to lead his team back with four passing touchdowns — three of which came in the second half.
The Chargers will really be kicking themselves on this one, however, with 27 points in the first half and only three in the final two quarters. That offensive lapse led to a heartbreaking 31-30 defeat, and quarterback Justin Herbert was sent home despite playing turnover-free football on Super Wildcard Weekend.
If it is the Jags in round two, Chiefs Kingdom might have some extra motivation. During their Week 10 win over Jacksonville, safety Andre Cisco knocked wide receiver JuJu Smith-Schuster out of the game with a vicious hit. The defensive back was later fined by the NFL for his actions, and Smith-Schuster missed the following outing with a concussion.
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AFC Rival Targets Chiefs’ Eric Bieniemy & Matt Nagy: Report