Chiefs: 3 replacements if Eric Bieniemy leaves for USC

Hue Jackson

The Cleveland Browns’ infamous winless 2017 was smack in the middle of Hue Jackson’s tenure there, which led to the organization’s dysfunction on full display in 2018’s season of “Hard Knocks.”

Jackson hasn’t bounced back until accepting his current gig as the offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach at Tennessee State, but it’s not hard to imagine that stealing him away to run the Chiefs offense would be too tempting to pass up.

Yes, Jackson has ultimately failed in both of his NFL head coaching positions, but his first positions coaching job was in 1987, and his first offensive coordinator gig was in 1996.

Jackson brings decades of experience working with some of the football world’s best programs that would be invaluable in Kansas City.

Dirk Koetter

It’s easy to forget that someone coached the Tampa Bay Buccaneers before Bruce Arians, but that someone was Dirk Koetter.

Another “Hard Knocks” alum who failed in the spotlight, Koetter’s failures closely mirrored Jackson’s: he was the head coach from 2016 until his firing in 2018.

That being said, Koetter started as an offensive coordinator in the NFL in 2007 for the Jacksonville Jaguars. Before announcing his retirement earlier this year, Koetter was the offensive coordinator for the Atlanta Falcons.

Sure, Koetter can’t seem to catch a break, but when has he ever worked for a remotely functional franchise? Priming him for success in the KC machine could bring the 62-year-old out of retirement.

Bill O’Brien

The definition of a head coaching experiment gone wrong, Bill O’Brien is the sole conspirator behind the dramatic downfall of the Houston Texans.

Somehow, O’Brien brought the playoff-competitive team led by the undervalued Deshaun Watson to its knees in a matter of seasons, trading away any hope for success with DeAndre Hopkins (and every other idiotic trade decision).

A Belichick he is not, O’Brien couldn’t cut it as a head coach/general manager — but he has a surprisingly excellent record as an offensive coordinator.

It should be noted that when O’Brien took part in running the Patriots offense in 2007 and 2011, they were the only two Patriots teams to make the Super Bowl during that time.

Nick Saban knows that O’Brien is good when he sticks to what he knows, which is why he’s running Alabama’s offense at the moment. And if the Chiefs are the Alabama of the NFL, it only makes sense for O’Brien to make the switch if Eric Bieniemy leaves.