Since 2018, the Kansas City Chiefs offense has been one of the best the game has ever seen. As a result, their offensive coordinator has become one of the highest sought after head coaching prospects in recent memory. This leaves us asking: which team will win the Eric Bieniemy Sweepstakes?
Will Eric Bieniemy Be a Successful Head Coach?
This is the only question teams should be asking themselves when deciding whether to offer Bieniemy their head coaching role. Will he succeed with the top job? The only true way to find out is to give him a shot, but history can help give us some early indications on this before he even gets his first gig.
The biggest cause for optimism is his current mentor, Andy Reid. While many great coaches like Bill Belichick cannot pass their knowledge on to their understudies, Reid is the opposite, boasting one of the best coaching trees the sport has seen. From Super Bowl winners John Harbaugh and Doug Peterson to playoff coaches like Sean McDermott, Ron Rivera, and Bieniemy’s predecessor Matt Nagy, Many coaches on the Reid tree have led their teams to the playoffs, and there is no reason to believe Bieniemy will bring that tree down. So, Who should hire him, and where exactly will he land?
Houston Texans
The current opinion of many bookmakers and fans of the league alike is that Bieniemy will end up with the Texans. This would be an excellent hire for Houston but is it a good fit for Bieniemy.
Since former head coach and general manager Bill O’Brien traded away DeAndre Hopkins in a move that unsurprisingly appears to have blown up in Houston’s face, they are left with Randall Cobb being the only guy in their receivers’ room to have made the Pro Bowl, which was back in 2014. This in contrast to the receivers Biemiemy has had at Kansas City with All-Pros Tyreek Hill, Travis Kelce, and Mecole Hardman.
While Deshaun Watson should help Eric Bieniemy to begin with, the difference in talent between the two sides may be difficult for Biemiemy to overcome early. In such a cutthroat business, this could see his head coaching career come to an end before it even gets a chance to begin.
Atlanta Falcons
The Falcons are on the brink of a full rebuild, with many of the stars on Bieniemy’s side like Matt Ryan and Julio Jones of the ball entering the twilight of their career. While the talent is there to allow them to push for a wild-card spot for the next year or two, you can’t overlook the regression from the Falcons since they came up short in Super Bowl LI.
While Atlanta should give Eric Bieniemy an offer, if Bieniemy wants a head coaching career, he should avoid Atlanta and take one of the other offers he is bound to get.
Detroit Lions
While the Falcons are on the brink of a rebuild, the Lions are in the middle of theirs, with Matthew Stafford entering his career’s twilight and their only Pro Bowl receiver Kenny Golladay in his contract year.
While rebuilding teams are the easiest jobs for rookie head coaches to get, it is also the most dangerous. You get one chance to make a first impression on the league, and no matter how good you are, should you fail to make a good impression, you’re not guaranteed a second chance. While Bieniemy could help turn this long-suffering franchise around, he has to decide whether the risk would be worth the reward. So does he want to risk his career to become a hero in Michigan? Only he can decide.
New York Jets
For the Jets, the only way is up. While their roster is devoid of talent, there can be no question that their biggest issue has been the infuriating coaching of Adam Gase. While he has yet to be fired, it seems like a matter of time until he is shown the door.
This is likely to be an unattractive offer for any head coaching candidate. However, with a rookie quarterback in Trevor Lawrence expected to go to the Jets, should they secure the first overall pick and the rest of their offense either lacking talent or aging, Any offensive head coach candidate, including Eric Biemiemy, should run a mile from East Rutherford.
Los Angeles Chargers
Like the Jets, the Chargers haven’t yet fired head coach Anthony Lynn, but it’s not a question of if but when he will be relieved of his duties in the next month.
However, unlike the Jets, this would work for both parties. With a season in which he is currently on course to break the rookie touchdown record, the Chargers already have their strong-armed Patrick Mahomes clone ready to go in Justin Herbert. Along with Herbert, the Chargers have three-time Pro-Bowler Keenan Allen heading up a strong receiving core and a solid offensive line behind veteran Bryan Bulaga. This offense is stacked and has suffered due to the special teams unit leading to their underwhelming record.
With all that considered, if Bieniemy gets an offer to become the Chargers head coach, he should strongly consider accepting it.
So, Who Will Get Eric Bieniemy?
The answer to who will end up landing Eric Bieniemy will probably the Texans, but they are for sure not going to be his options and shouldn’t even be his first choice should the Chargers, or if he is willing to take a risk, the Lions, offer him their job.
