This offseason, Kansas City Chiefs offensive coordinator Eric Bieniemy became a major subject of the Brian Flores lawsuit against the NFL for unfair hiring practices of minority coaching candidates.
While this was all occurring, Bieniemy’s contract was also up in Kansas City and there was a question on whether he might choose to continue his career at another destination. In the end, the OC returned to Chiefs Kingdom on a one-year deal.
Although the confusion still remains on why Bieniemy has never been given a head coaching opportunity, the dust has settled on this debate over the spring — at least, until today that is.
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McCoy Sounds off on Bieniemy
After spending the bulk of his career with Chiefs head coach Andy Reid in Philadelphia, former NFL running back LeSean McCoy joined KC for their Super Bowl run in 2019. One year later, the veteran won a second ring with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and decided to retire on top as a part of back-to-back championship campaigns — even though he was a nonfactor with both teams during the playoffs.
McCoy’s walk into the sunset was short-lived, however, as the 11,000-plus-yard rusher made headlines today on May 26, 2022.
As a co-contributor on ex-NFL wide receiver Brandon Marshall’s “I Am Athlete” podcast, McCoy appeared on Mad Dog Sports Radio’s “I Am Athlete Tonight” and decided to take an unexpected shot at Bieniemy.
The podcast’s account tweeted out the audio clip, which blew up on Twitter in no time.
“The reason why I ain’t finished is because me and [inaudible] had our differences about different things,” McCoy told the show. “I’m [going to] say this — there’s a reason why every year they hype him up to get a coaching job, head coach or offensive coordinator or whatever else, and he don’t get one.”
One of the hosts then clarified that McCoy was talking about Bieniemy, to which the running back responded: “Yea.”
McCoy continued: “Listen, because some players, he talks to them a certain way and some players will take it. I wouldn’t take it. Some questions I would ask, everybody is accountable. That’s why [he has not been hired]. It’s not because he is a black coach. That’s not the reason — the reason is — I won’t get into that… There is a reason why every year they hype him up to get a job and then when the time comes, nobody hires him because they know what type of coach he really is.”
The host then asked if Bieniemy was the reason McCoy left KC. He replied: “Yea, that’s exactly what it was.”
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Bitter Over Diminished Role?
McCoy’s lone season with the Chiefs was not exactly the highlight of his career. As we mentioned above, he didn’t get the ball during the postseason and was a healthy scratch during the Super Bowl victory over San Francisco.
In total, the veteran took 101 carries for Bieniemy and KC over 13 appearances and nine starts. McCoy totaled 465 yards on the ground during that span with an average of 4.6 yards per carry. He also caught 28 passes for 181 yards and added five total touchdowns.
The numbers were actually an improvement on McCoy’s past couple of seasons with the Buffalo Bills but they weren’t enough to hold onto his role in the offense. After a long and successful career, it appeared age had finally caught up to the runner, but he seems to see his time in Kansas City differently.
Clearly, McCoy believed he had more fuel left in the tank in 2019 and if not for Bieniemy, he might still be playing with the Chiefs. After 12 seasons of workhorse usage at age 33, that’s a very bold claim.
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LeSean McCoy Puts Chiefs OC Eric Bieniemy on Blast Over ‘Differences’