Getty Eric Bieniemy before the Super Bowl.
Kansas City Chiefs offensive coordinator Eric Bieniemy has received another opportunity to interview for a head coaching job in the NFL. This time the interview is with an NFC team.
The New Orleans Saints “want to talk” to Bieniemy regarding their head coaching vacancy, according to ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler. The two parties could meet on Saturday, February 5, per Fowler.
The Saints want to speak with Chiefs OC Eric Bieniemy for the head coaching job, per sources. An interview could take place Saturday.
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Bieniemy Named in Lawsuit vs. NFL
New Orleans’ request comes days after former Miami Dolphins head coach Brian Flores filed a lawsuit against the NFL to shed light on the “racial disparities … in the hiring and retention” of Black head coaches, coordinators, and general managers in the NFL.
Flores named Bieniemy in the lawsuit, as the Chiefs’ offensive coordinator was included among the legal complaint’s “Notable Recent Examples of Discriminatory Conduct,” with the headline, “Eric Bieniemy Cannot Get a Head Coach Job.”
Bieniemy’s meeting with the Saints will be the second head coaching job Bieniemy will interview for during the 2022 hiring cycle. He also interviewed for the Denver Broncos head coaching job in January. However, Green Bay Packers offensive coordinator Nathaniel Hackett was selected over Bieniemy for the job.
Bieniemy was also the betting favorite at one point to land the Minnesota Vikings’ head coaching job, but he wasn’t even offered an interview for the role.
Andy Reid on Lack of Promotion for Bieniemy: ‘It Disappoints Me’
During the 2022 postseason, Chiefs head coach Andy Reid spoke about the fact that Bieniemy still hasn’t received a head coaching job in the NFL despite his resume.
“These guys are unselfish guys. EB has had that the last couple years, and it disappoints me that someone hasn’t hired him, obviously, because he’s so good,” Reid said on January 14. “I’m hoping that takes place this year. But you know the guys, they’re not going to let it be a distraction. They’re going to defer to the team and what that’s all about and then kind of let the chips fall where they may. I’m sure between Covid and our long season it hasn’t been real beneficial for EB in having the opportunity, but I think this year he’s going to end up with one.”
Bieniemy, who has worked under Reid since 2013, explained during the playoffs why so many coaches have success in the NFL after working for Reid.
“Coach does a great job. First of all, he’s a father figure. He’s a head coach, he’s been around for a number of years, and he’s very, very consistent in what he does,” Bieniemy said on January 13. “He does a great job of delegating and making sure that everybody knows exactly what their roles are. But on top of that, he allows you to be yourself. He wants you to be the expert at what you do. So, when you have a coach that’s not always just saying, ‘You have to do this,’ or, ‘You have to do that,’ it makes it special because guys can come to work feeling comfortable in their own skin and going out there and perform up to their best capabilities.
“Then, another thing is there are no egos. We all work together. I think that’s the unique part that makes our coaching staff a very, very strong place because we all work together, we all get along, and if my idea is not good enough, it’s OK. If the coach’s idea is not good enough, that’s OK. Because at the end of the day, the only thing that we want to do is to do what is best for our team. That’s the thing that makes it special working under Coach Reid and just the culture that he’s built here.”
Bieniemy is deserving of a head coaching job in the NFL. Because of that, the Saints would be wise to make him their head coach.