Eric Bieniemy - Pro Football Rumors

Texans Did Not Request Interview With Eric Bieniemy

January 6th, 2021 at 7:25pm CST by Ben Levine

Chiefs offensive coordinator Eric Bieniemy has interviewed for every head coach opening…except one. ESPN’s Adam Schefter reports (via Twitter) that the Texans did not request an interview with the coordinator.

To review, Bieniemy interviewed for both the Jaguars and Jets jobs today, he met with the Chargers yesterday, and he interviewed with the Falcons and Lions on Monday. In recent years, he also interviewed with the Buccaneers, Dolphins, Browns, Giants, and Panthers about their former openings. The 51-year-old has emerged as a major HC candidate in recent seasons after guiding Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs offense to a Super Bowl victory. After several years of interviewing, Bieniemy may finally get his shot in 2021.

That shot apparently won’t come in Houston. The organization was running both their head coaching search and GM search concurrently, with the latter being resolved following the expected hire of Patriots executive Nick Caserio. Now, Caserio will presumably have a say in the head coach search. So far this offseason, the Texans have been connected to a number of potential candidates, including former head coaches Marvin Lewis and Jim Caldwell, Colts defensive coordinator Matt Eberflus, Titans offensive coordinator Arthur Smith, Panthers offensive coordinator Joe Brady, and Northwestern head coach Pat Fitzgerald.

Jaguars To Interview Eric Bieniemy, Robert Saleh, Raheem Morris

January 5th, 2021 at 5:28pm CST by Sam Robinson

Clarity emerged in the Jaguars’ Doug Marrone replacement search Tuesday. The Jags are set to interview Chiefs offensive coordinator Eric Bieniemy, 49ers defensive coordinator Robert Saleh and former Falcons interim head coach Raheem Morris this week, Tom Pelissero of NFL.com tweets.

While Urban Meyer has been the name most closely connected to this search, no interview has been scheduled. Bieniemy will speak with Jags brass Wednesday, with Morris and Saleh interviews on tap for Thursday and Saturday, respectively.

Now a regular on the HC interview circuit, Bieniemy has been Kansas City’s OC since Patrick Mahomes‘ QB1 tenure began. While Bieniemy is not the Chiefs’ primary play-caller, he has long been expected to land a coaching gig this year. He may hit for the cycle in coaching interviews as well. The Chargers have requested an interview with their former running back. The Lions have already interviewed Bieniemy, while the Jets and Falcons will speak with him as well.

Saleh would be an interesting hire. He has a history with the Jaguars during Shad Khan‘s ownership tenure. The current 49ers defensive play-caller spent three seasons (2014-16) as Jacksonville’s linebackers coach. A Michigan native, Saleh has been most closely connected to the Lions job and has already interviewed with the Falcons. The Bolts submitted an interview request as well.

Re-emerging on the HC radar for the first time in many years, Morris interviewed for the Falcons job he held during this season’s second half and has come up in the Raiders’ defensive coordinator search. The Jags are the first non-Falcons franchise to request a Morris HC meeting, however.

The Jaguars have also requested an interview with Titans OC Arthur Smith, joining every other HC-seeking team in that regard.

Chargers Request Eric Bieniemy Interview

January 5th, 2021 at 9:26am CST by Zachary Links

The Chargers have requested permission to interview Chiefs offensive coordinator Eric Bieniemy for their head coaching job, as Jeremy Fowler of ESPN.com tweets. The Lions, Falcons, and Jets are also expected to chat with Bieniemy, who profiles as one of the hottest candidates in this cycle.

The former running back spent four years with the Chargers back in the day and was even with the club for their early 90s Super Bowl trip. These days, he’s known as the mastermind behind one of the game’s most electric offenses. The Chargers are looking for someone to develop Justin Herbert into an elite quarterback, and Bieniemy has been widely credited for Patrick Mahomes‘ success.

In 2020, Bieniemy met with the Browns, Giants, and Panthers about their head coaching vacancies. Last year, he chatted with the Bucs and Dolphins. He didn’t land a HC job either time, but it would be a shock to see him passed over in 2021.

After a losing year full of near-victories, the Chargers are set to pick No. 13 overall in the spring.

Jets, Falcons, Lions To Interview Eric Bieniemy

January 4th, 2021 at 10:38am CST by Zachary Links

It’s shaping up to be a busy week for Chiefs offensive coordinator Eric Bieniemy. He’ll conduct virtual interviews with the Lions and Falcons on Monday afternoon, as Adam Schefter of ESPN.com tweets. Meanwhile, the Jets have officially requested an interview of their own.

Head coaching candidates whose teams are in the playoffs aren’t allowed to interview until after wild-card weekend. But, for Bieniemy, there’s a loophole, thanks to the Chiefs’ first-round bye. The same goes for 49ers defensive coordinator Robert Saleh, who is also slated to meet with the Lions. The Lions’ latest round of interview requests also includes Saints AHC/TE coach Dan Campbell and Titans offensive coordinator Arthur Smith, as NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport tweets.

Saleh, a Dearborn, Michigan native, may be poised for a homecoming. Still, the Lions have a candidates list in the double digits, so he’ll have lots of competition. Bieniemy, of course, is one of the hottest coaches on the block, and he has the offensive acumen the Lions need to get the most out of their talent.

Falcons To Interview Robert Saleh And Eric Bieniemy For HC Vacancy Monday

January 3rd, 2021 at 8:05pm CST by Andrew Ortenberg

The 49ers’ season just ended with a loss to the Seahawks, but things are just getting started for defensive coordinator Robert Saleh. Saleh is expected to be a hot heat coaching candidate this cycle, and it sounds like he’s got his first move lined up. Saleh will interview with the Falcons over zoom for their job on Monday, San Francisco coach Kyle Shanahan revealed during his post-game press conference.

Atlanta won’t stop there, as they’re also going to interview Chiefs offensive coordinator Eric Bieniemy on Monday, a source told Ian Rapoport of NFL Network (Twitter link). They clearly aren’t honing in on anything specific, interviewing coaches with defensive and offensive backgrounds. Saleh is a highly regarded leader who always has his defenses playing with high intensity, and when they were healthy the 49ers had one of the league’s best defenses last year.

Bieniemy has a ringing endorsement from Andy Reid, which obviously goes a long way these days. He’s been in Kansas City with Reid since 2013, previously as his running backs coach. Bieniemy is widely considered to be one of the frontrunners for the Texans’ job.

The Falcons won’t be the only team interested in Saleh, and Shanahan even said that he would have several more interviews in the coming days. Saleh is from Michigan, and has also been linked to the Lions’ job. Get ready, the coaching carousel is just starting to heat up.

Lions Interview Marvin Lewis For HC

January 3rd, 2021 at 11:42am CST by Rory Parks

Thus far, the Lions’ GM search has generated more headlines than their hunt for a new head coach, but their HC pursuit will soon kick into high gear. Detroit started that process by interviewing longtime Bengals HC Marvin Lewis several days ago, as Ian Rapoport, Tom Pelissero, and Mike Garafolo of NFL.com report.

Lewis interviewed with the Texans for their HC vacancy last month, so the 62-year-old appears to be firmly back on the NFL radar. He currently serves as the co-defensive coordinator on Herm Edwards‘ staff at Arizona State.

The defensive acumen that he displayed while working as the Ravens’ DC from 1996-01 helped Lewis secure the Cincinnati gig in 2003, a position he held for 16 seasons. Though his 0-7 record in the postseason has garnered plenty of attention and ultimately contributed to Lewis’ ouster, the fact that he got the formerly moribund Bengals to the playoffs seven times during his tenure was in and of itself a major accomplishment.

Detroit is considering a wide variety of candidates for its HC post. Robert Saleh, the current 49ers defensive coordinator, is said to be high atop the team’s wish-list, but the Lions are also considering offensive-minded coaches. Chiefs offensive coordinator and hot commodity Eric Bieniemy is a target, as is Titans OC Arthur Smith.

Peter Schrager of the NFL Network reports that Saleh, Bieniemy, and interim HC Darrell Bevell are expected to interview this week (Twitter link).

Jets Plan To Fire Adam Gase

January 2nd, 2021 at 5:12pm CST by Sam Robinson

The expected firing of Adam Gase is on track to transpire after Week 17, according to NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport and Tom Pelissero. While Gase said earlier this week he has not been notified he will be fired, the Jets’ 0-13 start essentially ensured he would not be back.

This will mark Gase’s second ouster in three seasons; the Dolphins fired him after the 2018 season. He has gone 9-22 with the Jets. Although the former successful OC led his team to upset wins over two potential playoff squads and helped the Jets hire GM Joe Douglas, the past two Jets seasons have involved controversy and continued losing.

As far as a replacement goes, the Jets appear to be looking at a wide array of candidates. Current assistants Eric Bieniemy (Chiefs OC), Matt Eberflus (Colts DC), Don Martindale (Ravens DC), Arthur Smith (Titans OC) and Brandon Staley (Rams DC) are set to be considered. As are college coaches Jim Harbaugh (Michigan), Matt Campbell (Iowa State) and Dan Mullen (Florida), according to NFL.com. Harbaugh, a previous Jets candidate, appears a long shot. The former 49ers coach is finalizing an extension to stay at Michigan, Bruce Feldman of The Athletic tweets.

After leading the Dolphins to the playoffs in his first season as head coach, Gase has seen his teams miss the past four postseason brackets. In New York, he feuded with previous GM Mike Maccagnan and was consistently connected to dissatisfaction with Le’Veon Bell‘s contract and performance. Two-plus months after cutting Bell, the Jets will move on from Gase. They were prepared to fire Gase earlier this week had the Browns upset not occurred, according to NFL.com.

The Jets already fired Gregg Williams after the polarizing defensive coordinator made a play call that cost the Jets an excellent chance at beating the Raiders. Gase and Williams feuded as well. Jets ownership sought Williams, which helped lead to then-Baylor HC Matt Rhule declining to leave the college ranks in 2019. Rhule ended up in Carolina a year later.

Gase’s Jets offense rarely generated much excitement. The team has struggled to build an offensive line and did not equip Sam Darnold well at the skill positions. As a result, the former No. 3 overall pick has regressed. And during the months in which the Jets were connected to Trevor Lawrence, Darnold frequently landed in trade rumors. As Darnold’s third season concludes, his status is in limbo. The Jets are set to hold the No. 2 overall pick in April and could well look at a quarterback to begin the post-Gase era.

Extra Points: Coaches, GMs, Schedule, OTAs

December 23rd, 2020 at 3:05pm CST by Sam Robinson

After the NFL expanded the Rooney Rule this offseason, it has a “ready list” of minority candidates for head coaching jobs, offensive and defensive coordinator positions and GM candidates, according to Pro Football Talk’s Mike Florio. Beyond some of the big names — Eric Bieniemy, Marvin Lewis, Todd Bowles, Leslie Frazier among them — coaches like Clemson OC Tony Elliott, Penn State HC James Franklin and Michigan State HC Mel Tucker appear on the HC portion of the list. On the GM side, some first-time candidates include Bills pro scouting director Malik Boyd, Raiders pro scouting director Dwayne Joseph, Ravens exec Vincent Newsome and Chargers player personnel director JoJo Wooden. Former Cardinals safety Adrian Wilson — now the franchise’s pro scouting director — also appears on the GM portion of the list. The Rooney Rule now mandates teams interview two minority HC candidates and expanded the rule to include coordinator positions. Franchises must also open their senior-level executive jobs to minority and female candidates.

Here is the latest from around the league:

Normal NFL offseasons feature several weeks’ worth of OTAs preceding a June minicamp, but the NFLPA would like a schedule that looks closer to this year’s virtual offseason. Union executive director DeMaurice Smith said “there is absolutely no reason” for the NFL to return to full-scale OTAs, per Sports Business Daily’s Ben Fischer (subscription required). Having seen no decline in performance after this atypical offseason, union president J.C. Tretter agrees with Smith. This would be a stretch for coaching staffs, which have steadily seen their time with players cut back. The past two CBA agreements have significantly limited offseason and padded training camp workouts, and 2020’s COVID-19-altered offseason created steeper acclimation challenges for young players.
The NFL has agreed to a formula for its 17th regular-season game, making it increasingly likely this season will be the last one of the 16-game era. In what will be the first shift to the league’s scheduling setup since 2002, the 17-game schedule will feature a fifth interconference game. The schedule will pit an AFC division winner against an NFC division winner, and on down the line within each division, but the extra interconference game will not feature two teams who played the previous year, Albert Breer of SI.com notes. In the event the NFL moves to the 17-game season in 2021, the Chiefs and Buccaneers could not play again next season; the earliest such a regular-season rematch would occur would be 2022.
Roger Goodell may well be on board with shortening the preseason slate from four games to two. The commissioner “seemed in favor” of halving the preseason schedule at last week’s owners meetings, according to ESPN.com’s Seth Wickersham, but some high-profile owners are not. Jerry Jones, Robert Kraft, John Mara and Art Rooney II dismissed the idea of going from three preseason games — the new number as of the 2020 CBA — to two, according to ESPN. No vote occurred on the matter, though Goodell discussing the idea publicly points to it remaining an issue going forward.

Coaching/GM Notes: Hurney, Lewis, Morris, Lynn, Gettleman

December 21st, 2020 at 6:33pm CST by Andrew Ortenberg

The Panthers made a big splash Monday by firing GM Marty Hurney. Although the timing was interesting since Carolina’s season will be over in just a couple of weeks, it wasn’t the result of any sudden developments or changes. The move had apparently been in the works for a while, as Albert Breer of SI.com was told that Hurney was in the final year of his contract and that he and owner David Tepper had been talking about an exit for weeks now (Twitter link). Breer adds that the analytics-minded Tepper wants to “modernize” the personnel side. As for names to keep an eye on for the now vacant role, Breer tweets that 49ers VP of player personnel Adam Peters is one to watch. Peters played for Panthers head coach Matt Rhule back when Rhule was the defensive line coach at UCLA.

It sounds like Tepper knows more or less what he wants, and accordingly the relatively new owner told the media on Monday he won’t be using an outside search firm like some teams for the GM opening. To clarify on the modernization, David Newton of ESPN.com reiterates that the Panthers will look for a new GM who “is driven by data and analytics, characteristics that didn’t define” Hurney. Carolina seems to have found their coach of the future with Rhule but they’ve still got plenty of questions to address moving forward, like whether or not Teddy Bridgewater is the long-term answer under center. Who they hire here should tell us a lot about the direction they plan to take.

Now that we’ve broken down most of the Hurney fallout, let’s pivot to the rest of the front office and coaching staff talk around the league:

Former Texans GM Rick Smith looks like a hot candidate this cycle. Smith recently interviewed with the Falcons, and sources told Jason La Canfora of CBS Sports that he’ll interview with the Lions soon. That’s not all, as sources also told La Canfora that Washington is interested in having Smith run their football operations. We heard back in January that Washington almost hired Smith before electing not to hire a front office head for the time being, so this isn’t too surprising. VP of player personnel Kyle Smith is currently overseeing things for Washington, but sources told La Canfora that the team is “very likely to fill a traditional general manager spot” this offseason. Smith left Houston after the 2017 season when his wife was diagnosed with breast cancer, and is generally well regarded around the league.
Speaking of guys looking to get back into the league after a hiatus, we might not have seen the last of Marvin Lewis. The former long-time Bengals coach is “under consideration for several head coaching opportunities in 2021,” sources told La Canfora. Lewis was never able to make a deep playoff run in Cincy, but he undeniably did an incredible job turning them from a perennial laughing stock and doormat to annual contender in the AFC North for a while. After spending an impressive 16 season roaming the Bengals’ sideline, he’s spent the past couple years on Herm Edwards’ staff at Arizona State. La Canfora writes that “numerous teams have indicated an interest in speaking to Lewis,” although he doesn’t specifically name any. Lewis reportedly received strong interest from both the Cowboys and Washington during last year’s cycle, and it sounds like this could be the year he makes it back in.
Finally, a few notes via Tony Pauline of ProFootballNetwork.com. The Falcons managed to turn their season around a bit after firing Dan Quinn, although things have started to go off the rails again in recent weeks. The initial success led to some buzz that interim coach and former Bucs head coach Raheem Morris could be a candidate for the full-time job, although Pauline throws some cold water on that. Pauline says there’s a “very slight chance” they keep Morris, noting people who he has talked to won’t completely rule it out. That being said, he hears that Chiefs OC Eric Bieniemy is still at the top of their list.
Anthony Lynn and the Chargers have now won back to back games, but Pauline writes he’ll need a “miracle” to save his job. One source he talked to put the odds of Lynn returning at 20 percent, and he writes that’s a best-case scenario for the embattled Los Angeles coach. Lynn has made a number of high profile game management blunders in recent weeks, and Pauline writes the consensus of “well-connected” people is that he’ll be fired. With a talented roster and a stud young quarterback in Justin Herbert, the Chargers’ job should be an attractive one.
While a lot of these decisions already appear to be more or less set in stone, Pauline says that Giants GM Dave Gettleman’s status is genuinely undecided and up in the air. He writes that it’ll depend on what happens the rest of the year (presumably whether the G-Men win the NFC East), and that there’s been no “definitive decision.” However, Pauline does say that as of right now he hears the Giants are “more comfortable” getting rid of Gettleman and bringing in someone new to work alongside first-year coach Joe Judge, who people inside the building are apparently “ecstatic” about. As one that could seemingly go either way, the situation in New York will be one of the most interesting to monitor the last couple weeks. What happens with Gettleman could also very well determine whether the team runs it back with Daniel Jones or looks for a new quarterback this offseason.

Falcons Interested In Nathaniel Hackett; Eric Bieniemy Also On Radar

November 5th, 2020 at 2:58pm CST by Sam Robinson

After 1 1/2 seasons as Green Bay’s offensive coordinator, Nathaniel Hackett has emerged as a head coaching candidate. The Falcons are interested in the longtime assistant, Jason La Canfora of CBS Sports reports.

Team president Rich McKay is likely to pursue an interview with Hackett when he becomes available for one, per JLC, who adds the 40-year-old OC’s name has come up in “several” internal discussions to succeed Dan Quinn.

McKay is running Atlanta’s search and has a history with Hackett, who is a second-generation NFL coach. The son of former NFL OC Paul Hackett, Nathaniel broke into the NFL as a Buccaneers quality control coach during his father’s stay as the team’s QBs coach during the mid-2000s. McKay was with Tampa Bay at that point.

The Packers hired Hackett last year to work as Matt LaFleur‘s right-hand man on offense. While Aaron Rodgers certainly makes a coordinator’s job easier, the Packers rank second in offensive DVOA this season despite having gone stretches without Davante Adams and Aaron Jones. Green Bay ranked eighth last season, though the team was seventh in Mike McCarthy‘s abbreviated final season. LaFleur calls Green Bay’s plays. Hackett served as OC for the Bills and Jaguars under Doug Marrone; the Jags fired him in 2018. Only one of Hackett’s five pre-Packers offenses ranked in the top 15 in DVOA.

The Falcons are likely to be interested in Chiefs OC Eric Bieniemy, La Canfora notes. They will have company in chasing Kansas City’s non-play-calling OC, who has been in place throughout Patrick Mahomes‘ tenure as the Chiefs’ starting quarterback. The Texans are also interested in Bieniemy, who has taken HC interviews in each of the past two offseasons and is expected to land a coaching job in 2021.