Eagles Never Requested Interview with Eric Bieniemy

The team had reportedly asked for permission to interview the Kansas City Chiefs OC, but Andy Reid said the request was never received

Turns out the Eagles didn't even ask to interview Eric Bieniemy for their head-coaching job, that according to Andy Reid himself.

Reid, the Kansas City Chiefs coach and former Eagles mentor, was asked about his old team's interest in his well-regarded current offensive coordinator Wednesday at his Super Bowl videoconference.

“No, there was no formal interview form sent in,” said Reid. “They had talked about it, but there was nothing formally sent.”

Bieniemy has been tabbed by many observers as a future head coach for a few years now and his persistent snubs have been noticed by critics who assert that the NFL has a problem hiring minorities when it comes to head-coaching positions.

Of the seven openings in this hiring cycle, Bieniemy had confirmed interviews with Atlanta, Detroit, the LA Chargers, the New York Jets, and Houston Texans. Only Jacksonville, which was laser-focused on Urban Meyer and the Eagles, did not speak with him.

As a whole, there were two minorities hired in the class - Robert Saleh and David Culley - and only one African-American, Culley, who was hired by the Texans.

There are currently three African-American head coaches in a league that is 69 percent Black. The Eagles haven't hired a head coach or a coordinator who is Black since Ray Rhodes in 1995.

Reid did dispel the notion that the Eagles weren't interested in another coach from his legendary tree of former assistants or at least wasn't aware of some unofficial decree from Jeffrey Lurie.

“No, not at all," he responded when asked if he was aware of the Eagles avoiding his guys.

Once Philadelphia fired Doug Pederson, a former Reid OC, the thought was that they would speak to both Bieniemy and the Chiefs' passing game coordinator Mike Kafka. Turns out they didn't speak to either.

The Eagles formally interviewed 10 candidates: the man they hired Nick Sirianni (the former Colts OC), Carolina offensive coordinator Joe Brady, former Eagles assistant head coach/running backs coach Duce Staley (since hired by Detroit for the same position), Saleh (the San Francisco defensive coordinator hired by the Jets), New England inside linebackers coach Jerod Mayo, Tennessee OC Arthur Smith (hired by Atlanta), New England OC Josh McDaniels, Tampa Bay defensive coordinator Todd Bowles, Dallas OC Kellen Moore and New Orleans defensive coordinator Dennis Allen.

Staley's presence as a long-time assistant lobbied for by many Eagles players could have complicated things for Bieniemy in Philadelphia but there is no clear reason why the Eagles did not speak to him.

“It’s always about getting the right job,” Bieniemy said this week as the Chiefs get ready for their second consecutive Super Bowl appearance against Tampa Bay on Sunday. “Sometimes the job and the person have to connect. There has to be a connection. The only thing I can do is be my most authentic self. That’s who I am. I can only be me. Some team has to want me.

"For some reason, that chemistry has not been a fit. There has not been that opportunity to connect, but that’s OK. At the end of the day, I have the opportunity to go out here and work with the Kansas City Chiefs."

John McMullen contributes Eagles coverage for SI.com's EagleMaven and is the NFL Insider for JAKIB Media. You can listen to John every Tuesday and Thursday on "The Middle" with Eytan Shander, Harry Mayes, and Barrett Brooks on SportsMap Radio and PhillyVoice.com. He’s also the host of Extending the Play on AM1490 in South Jersey. You can reach him at jmcmullen44@gmail.com or on Twitter @JFMcMullen

Ed Kracz is the publisher of EagleMaven. Check out the latest Eagles news at www.SI.com/NFL/Eagles and please follow him on Twitter: @kracze.