Todd Bowles deserves a head coaching job as much as Eric Bieniemy

Eric Bieniemy is more than qualified to be a NFL head coach. Following the 31-9 victory over the Kansas City, so does Todd Bowles 

Eric Bieniemy was asked this week about being passed up for a head coaching job in 2021. Seven head coaching roles opened up for the Kansas City Chiefs offensive coordinator to earn his shot at running a team this offseason.

When the Houston Texans hired David Culley, it was back to square one for Bieniemy.

There’s no denying the wagon wheel of hoping for a head coaching role will come again in 2022 for Bieniemy. After all, Patrick Mahomes, Travis Kelce and Tyreek Hill aren’t going anywhere. However, sixty minutes following Super Bowl LV down in Tampa Bay, there’s another name added to the mix for hotshot names on the early market for 2022.

Enter Todd Bowles, the Buccaneers defensive coordinator who held Mahomes out of the end zone on the way to a 31-9 victory. You best believe that he will earn his shot to become a head coach once again following this outing.

A playoff performance to remember for Bowles

Most people will turn the attention to Bowles’ four-year stint with the New York Jets. He finished 24-40 with the team and only finished above .500 once. Naturally, he was set to be fired following another 4-12 finish after the 2018 season.

The fallout? Adam Gase and two years of eye-balling madness in the Big Apple. Sam Darnold might have been better off with Bowles after all.

Bowles became a hot name working under Bruce Arians with the Arizona Cardinals. His defensive fronts were some of the league’s best during the early run of Arians’ deep postseason pushes with Carson Palmer under center.

Naturally, when fired from New York, Arians called him back to work in Tampa. Just like two old friends catching up, they didn’t miss a beat.

The Buccaneers defense finished with the league-best run defense in back-to-back seasons. They also rebounded in the secondary thanks to improvement from young talent. In 2019 they ranked 30th in passing yards allowed per game. A year later, they finished 21st.

The postseason was a reawakening for Bowles’ 3-4 scheme to attack once more. Drew Brees was limited to 134 passing yards and threw three inceptions in the Divisional Round. Aaron Rodgers might have passed over 300 yards, but his one interception did factor towards the Bucs winning the NFC crown.

The big red bow on the ultimate comeback cake though was found on Sunday night. Mahomes was pressured over nine times from the front seven while the secondary blanketed all of Kansas City’s weapons. Meanwhile, the longest play of the evening came on a 33-yard pass to Kelce.

That didn’t happen until the fourth quarter when the game was all but won.

Bieniemy will be a hot name after helping Kansas City go to a pair of Super Bowls. Bowles will be too if Arians doesn’t name him the successor after the performance on Sunday night.

Offense wins games but defense wins championships is the old saying. It’s why Bowles will be a top name on the market next offseason to earn his redemption outside of New York.