Eric Bieniemy and the Commanders look to be moving toward a deal. The longtime Chiefs offensive coordinator is back at the NFC East team’s facility Friday and is believed to have interest in leaving Kansas City for Washington, Ian Rapoport of NFL.com tweets.
While it would represent a somewhat strange development for the five-year Chiefs OC to leave a place where he has won two Super Bowls, teams have continually overlooked him for head coaching gigs. This OC-to-OC move would allow Bieniemy to have full play-calling responsibilities for the first time.
The sides began their meeting with a Wednesday-night dinner, and Albert Breer of SI.com tweets he and the Commanders will discuss contract matters and staffing Friday. The process is likely to conclude with Bieniemy becoming the next Commanders OC, Rapoport tweets. If Bieniemy leaves his post under Andy Reid, Rapoport adds (via Twitter) Matt Nagy is the favorite to replace him as the Chiefs’ next OC. Other teams showed interest in Nagy this offseason, but NFL.com’s Mike Garafolo tweets the ex-Bears HC received indications he was next in line to become Reid’s right-hand man on offense.
Both Nagy and Doug Pederson rode Kansas City’s OC position to HC opportunities — in Chicago and Philadelphia, respectively — but no such path has formed for Bieniemy, leading to widespread criticism. The Chiefs have employed Bieniemy as their OC throughout Patrick Mahomes‘ starter tenure, and while numerous HC interviews occurred, a chance to lead a team remains elusive. A move to a play-calling post, then, emerged on the radar as a potential stepping stone for the 10-year Chiefs assistant.
Bieniemy, 53, interviewed for the Colts’ HC job this year but said prior to Super Bowl LVII he had not met with any teams about their OC gig. Both the Commanders and Ravens wanted to speak with the Reid lieutenant about their play-calling positions, but Baltimore hired Todd Monken for the job. Washington, however, has kept its job open for more than a month. Bieniemy has been the Commanders’ top choice for a while, and despite Ron Rivera being on the hot seat and the franchise potentially nearing a sale, the two-time Super Bowl-winning OC is close to relocating.
The Chiefs extended Bieniemy on a one-year deal during the 2022 offseason. Even if his contract were not up, the Chiefs could not block a Bieniemy Commanders interview due to the job coming with play-calling responsibilities. Reid has retained those in Kansas City, which has played a role in the assistant not landing a top coaching gig. Bieniemy’s inability to do so, despite others securing such opportunities in recent years without play-calling pasts, has led to the intense scrutiny regarding the NFL’s hiring practices. That is unlikely to cease if Bieniemy lands in Washington, but it appears the former NFL running back is ready to test himself as a play-caller for a scuffling team.
Rivera fired three-year OC Scott Turner on Jan. 10 and interviewed several candidates, but the search slowed. Bieniemy waited until after the Chiefs’ Super Bowl LVII win to interview, passing on a Titans meeting in the process. Rivera and Reid have been in contact, Breer adds.
Whereas the Chiefs are coming off a season in which their offense ranked No. 1 in DVOA despite the team trading All-Pro Tyreek Hill, the Commanders ranked 28th. Even in traditional metrics, Washington’s offense did not rank inside the top 20 during Turner’s tenure. Quarterback issues played a large part in that, though Turner drew criticism as well during the 2022 season.
While Bieniemy leaving the comforts of the Reid-Mahomes setup for uncertainty in Washington obviously brings considerable risk, the Commanders do roster some skill-position talent. Terry McLaurin and first-round pick Jahan Dotson are signed through 2025, with Curtis Samuel‘s contract running through the ’23 season. Brian Robinson also showed promise during his rookie campaign, despite suffering gunshot wounds in August.
Nagy served as Reid’s OC for two seasons — 2016-17 — after Pederson left for Philadelphia. Reid did give him a play-calling role for a bit, and the Bears hired him after Alex Smith‘s final K.C. season. Nagy earned Coach of the Year honors after helping the Bears to a 12-4 record and their first NFC North title since 2010. The operation went south soon after, with the team’s Mitch Trubisky draft choice doing well to sink Nagy. The Bears finished 8-8 in 2019 and 2020, but their 6-11 2021 mark led to Nagy’s firing. He quickly resurfaced in Kansas City as quarterbacks coach, and it looks like the Chiefs will ensure continuity by promoting him to replace Bieniemy.
Can the Chiefs block a lateral move or would this be considered a step up if he gets full play calling responsibilities?
If Bieniemy wants to go then let him go. No point keeping him around if he wants to continue his career elsewhere. The Chiefs will have no problem landing an OC or promoting from within. Reid calls the plays anyways.
Even if they could, I doubt they would even consider blocking something like this. That’s more of a Jerry Jones or Mark Davis move
I thought Eric’s contract expired making him a FA, if you will.
I will
The article mentions that they can’t block him because the new gig would include play-calling duties.
Bienemy is a favorite and Nagy is lucky he is buddy of Reid. He has no idea how to mentor a QB, he destroyed Trubisky and was on the way of ruining Justin Fields… If Nagy someone spins this into a second shot as a head coach then you know the answer about the owners practices in the NFL…
What do you mean by, “Bienemy is a favorite?” I really do hope Bienemy gets a shot as head coach. The results would certainly help shed some light onto why he should or should not have been hired up to this point.
I know what you’re referencing when you say, “owners’ practices”—and I don’t think you’re wrong. However, I’m trying reconcile how one of the teams who interviewed him last hiring cycle (Texans) ended up hiring Lovie Smith and then DeMeco Ryans. Apparently those “practices” didn’t have much to do with race.
Yes, one team keeps hire black coaches and then fires them the next year. Great example of change…
David Culley before Lovie. Culley was a WR coach that was on no one’s radar, and Lovie is abrasive and couldn’t hack it at Illinois, so neither of them stuck. They gave Ryans a long contract. So yeah, they are a good example.
This was not a comment about change—it’s a comment about Bienemy, which is my point. I don’t think Bienemy is an example of “needed change.” These are two different issues. One issue is hiring practices that are racist. The other issue is a coach who is getting passed over for reasons other than his skin color, but skin color keeps getting brought up as THE reason. I get it, it’s easy, it’s convenient, and it fits an agenda nicely without having to actually put much thought in.
It’s been rumored that EB is a bad interviewer who often doesn’t seem prepared. Add that to his history at Colorado, and he’s easy to skip over.
I’m curious to see what Bieniemy can do fully running the show on offense, but with a likely lame duck coach, a potential team sale, and a quizzical public commitment to Sam Howell after a whopping 19 pro pass attempts, I don’t think this is the move I would be looking to make.
Some people choose to bet on themselves and not fear what ifs. This is an opportunity for EB.
Taking a job that might be insecure for multiple reasons that have nothing to do with how you perform isn’t the best way to bet on yourself.
It absolutely is.In the coaching profession, you take opportunities that could help you excel professionally. Half the teams that had coordinator changes this off season could change coaches next off season as well.If you’re worried about job security, you should find another profession. If the offense is productive or greatly improved, he will have zero problem getting another job if the staff gets blown up. If he really kicks ass, he could be the next HC of the team.
Half the teams with OC changes this offseason do not have head coaches on the hot seat, let alone head coaches on the hot seat AND likely team sales AND no decent, even semi-established quarterback.
Bucs, Saints, Chargers, Cowboys, Rams, Jets all fit that description. Why did so many teams fire their coordinators? Maybe so the HC could save their jobs?
The Saints didn’t change their OC, the Cowboys didn’t hire a new play-caller (so that’s non-applicable for the subject at hand), Saleh isn’t on a very hot seat, and the Rams both didn’t hire a new play-caller AND their coach very obviously isn’t on the hot seat. And in the Chargers case, taking a job to work with Justin Herbert is very different than taking a job to work with a totally unknown variable.
Any of those teams perform poorly, HC’s could be gone. McVay is now flirting with retirement every season. Bucs, Saints, Jets all have no idea who their next QB will be. That’s my point. There are very few “safe” jobs out there. Which comes back to my original point, sometimes you have to take a chance (bet on yourself) to advance. Players do it all the time in the NFL.
The Rams don’t even make sense in this conversation. It would be another non play-calling position. And my point is that if he’s going to leave KC for another OC gig, it would be a better bet to pick one where there wasn’t so much upheaval likely to come in a year’s time. DC is less stable than just about any of those for reasons I’ve already pointed out. Not one of those other jobs involves a hot seat HC, likely team sale, AND no QB. And that’s leaving out all the other teams, including ones starting new HC regimes.
It sounds like you understand what I’m saying, but arguing with semantics. Upheaval is a constant in the NFL, no matter the reason. That’s a fact. If he wants to excel, he needs to take a chance. The point is, he does well in DC, no matter what, his stock will be higher this time next year.
You keep pointing out other situations that aren’t as risky and threatened with imminent upheaval as this one. That’s not semantics. And setting out to install a new offense with an unsolved QB position with the likelihood that he only gets one season to excel is not putting someone in the best position to succeed.
Putting oneself in a position to succeed is still better than staying put and playing it safe.
As others have pointed out, there are many positives about that job. I hope he gets it and excels.
I understand your points, but things could go either way.
Bienemy is a free agent, he is rolling the dice to go to Washington but if they are again fighting for the playoffs going into the last couple of weeks and Howell is playing well. He will be looked at again as a head coaching candidate. Right now he doesn’t get a lot of credit in KC because it is Andy Reid’s offense and they have the best QB in the league. The Commanders do have a good D, if Howell is at least serviceable they will likely be in the playoff mix. I think this is a gamble that Bienemy has to try out.
Sure it’s Andy Reid’s offense. That didn’t stop previous Andy Reid OCs from getting head coach jobs, nor has it stopped Sean McVay or Kyle Shanahan offensive coordinators from getting head coach jobs.
I think Bienemy should have already been given a chance as a head coach. Going somewhere else and succeeding may give him a chance. Owners though will do what they want. Marvin Lewis and Jim Caldwell, two coaches who have winning records don’t even get considered anymore..
Gee, one could get the idea those guys all have something else in common that gets them held to a different standard.
OH NO, I THOUGHT NAGY WAS GONE NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
GOD HELP US