by Kansas City Chiefs coach Andy Reid spoke to a Fox reporter shortly after winning Super Bowl 57 and amid exuberance, smile and joy, Reid made a point of saying something after praising quarterback Patrick Mahomes.
“Eric Bieniemy was also phenomenal,” said Reid.
Later, while accepting the Lombardi Trophy and dodging fat jokes from Terry Bradshaw, who apparently doesn’t have a mirror, Reid again struggled to make a point.
“Eric Bieniemy was tremendous down the stretch,” said Reid, “…putting things together.”
Reid mentioned Bieniemy for the third time in an interview with ESPN. Sure, Reid mentions Bieniemy a lot, but there was definitely a pattern after the game.
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In the pre-game, Fox’s Jay Glazer said Reid would not close the door on retiring. Reid seemed to squash that conversation after the game, but being all tin foil, I thought Reid was possibly making sure his offensive coordinator’s name was mentioned because maybe Reid was stepping down.
There has long been a theory that Bieniemy was in Kansas City as Reid’s replacement. Maybe it was time.
The most likely thing Reid was doing with his post-match praise for Bieniemy was making sure no one forgot about Bieniemy, despite the fact that year after year, season after season, despite coordinating one of the best offenses in recent history, Bieniemy continues to be deprecated. .
In fact, “passed on” is a very nice phrase to use. Eric Bieniemy will probably get screwed again.
If you say that Reid is the true genius behind this offense, well, that’s true. But we’ve seen assistants under great minds become head coaches at other teams. That list is as long as Mahomes’ accomplishments are.
We’ve seen college coaches with no NFL experience get hired. NFL coaches who were not coordinators are hired. Apparently my mother will be hired to become head coach before Bieniemy.
Super Bowl 57 saw a first: two black starting quarterbacks in the big game. After Super Bowl 57, we get to see one of the best coordinators, who happens to be black, get passed over once again.
Maybe I’m wrong. Perhaps the few remaining teams that need coaches will hire Bieniemy. But it doesn’t seem like that. ESPN’s Adam Schefter reported that Indianapolis plans to hire Eagles offensive coordinator Shane Steichen as the Colts’ head coach.
Steichen is solid, but he’s been offensive coordinator for three years (two with the Eagles); Bieniemy has held the position since 2018. Kansas City has won multiple Super Bowls. Hell, he should be signed just for the fact that, somehow, tight end Travis Kelce constantly gets so open.
I cannot stress enough how unusual it is for someone with Bieniemy’s background not to land a head coaching job. There are few precedents, and unfortunately, many of them are also black. Not all, but most. Brilliant men like Jimmy Raye II, who didn’t get the head coaching chance he deserved. Same with Sherman Lewis, offensive coordinator for the Packers in the 1990s, among other teams, who was passed over the same way Bieniemy is now.
Bieniemy has been mentioned as a candidate for several offensive coordinator spots on other teams, which, frankly, is extremely offensive.
After the game, Mahomes hugged Bieniemy, celebrating together. Mahomes was asked what Bieniemy meant to him.
“EB means the world to me, man,” Mahomes told Kansas City journalist Darren Smith. “The way he holds me accountable. The way he makes me great every day. This man is one of a kind, one of the greatest.”
Hopefully, again, everything is wrong and some team is ready to come in and sign Bieniemy in the coming days.
It doesn’t look like that will happen. Looks like he’s going to be passed again.
As he did before.
And before that.
And before that.
