Report: Eric Bieniemy ‘Remains a Viable Candidate’ for Colts HC Job
For multiple years in a row, Kansas City Chiefs offensive coordinator Eric Bieniemy has been subject to mass speculation surrounding his future as a coach in the NFL. The 53-year-old has interviewed with several organizations throughout the league for their open head coaching vacancies, but he has yet to land one of those jobs. As the Chiefs prepare for their Super Bowl LVII matchup against the Philadelphia Eagles, Bieniemy's name is still a popular one.
Earlier this week, it was reported that Bieniemy was a "prime candidate" for jobs with the Baltimore Ravens and Washington Commanders. Those positions are of the coordinator variety, though, so it remains to be seen whether he would accept making a lateral move in order to potentially increase his chances of becoming a head coach down the road. On Opening Night of Super Bowl week, Bieniemy said he hadn't yet interviewed with either franchise for their open offensive coordinator jobs.
Bieniemy was one of many candidates to interview with the Indianapolis Colts for their open head coaching vacancy, completing his on Jan. 12 and later saying he thinks it "went great." On Friday morning, three of them — New York Giants coordinators Mike Kafka (offense) and Wink Martindale (defense), as well as Cincinnati Bengals offensive coordinator Brian Callahan — were informed that they're no longer in the running. While Bieniemy didn't land a second interview with Indianapolis, he's reportedly still squarely in the running if owner Jim Irsay doesn't hire Jeff Saturday. Per Mike Florio of ProFootballTalk, the Kansas City offensive coordinator "remains a viable candidate" for the job in that scenario:
Bieniemy has interviewed for the Indianapolis job. And even though he didn’t have a second interview during the bye week, I’m told he remains a viable candidate for the position. If Irsay doesn’t hire Saturday.
This is a minor surprise, as the Colts' advancement in their search without Bieniemy led many to naturally believe that he was on the outside looking in. It was recently floated around that a mostly unprecedented third round of interviews could be held, which would theoretically bode well for Bieniemy. If that takes place and he does end up being a finalist, getting a second chance to make a good impression on the organization could prove to be beneficial. With a hire possibly coming in just a matter of days, this situation is worth keeping an eye on into and perhaps even after the weekend.
In five seasons as the Chiefs' offensive coordinator, Bieniemy has worked with head coach Andy Reid to engineer one of the NFL's best units on a yearly basis. Kansas City has done no worse than host the AFC Championship Game in all five of those campaigns, also making a pair of trips to the Super Bowl in the 2019 and 2020 seasons. With a third one on the horizon, Bieniemy's hope is that things work out in his favor on Sunday and then again afterward so he can finally land the elusive head coaching position.
SUNDAY UPDATE: Per Adam Schefter of ESPN, the Colts are targeting Eagles offensive coordinator Shane Steichen for their head coaching job. Schefter adds that Indianapolis has informed other remaining candidates that the franchise is "moving in a different direction."
