Eric Bieniemy looks positioned to take a job elsewhere after the season. Who should the Kansas City Chiefs hire to replace him?
Eric Bieniemy is quite possibly done with the Kansas City Chiefs after Sunday’s big game against the Philadelphia Eagles. The AFC Champion’s offensive coordinator has already garnered interest for lateral moves around the league with other teams.
Before this season, Bieniemy signed a one-year contract to stay with the Chiefs, where he’s worked since 2013 and as offensive coordinator since 2018. He’s a free agent at the end of this season and has been referred to as a head coaching candidate for several offseasons now despite not yet landing any of the roles.
Offensive coordinator is an incredibly important position on the Chiefs’ coaching staff, so if he is indeed gone, who should Kansas City look to in order to backfill his role? Let’s take a look.
One name that got some plays around the league was Bengals QB coach Dan Pitcher. He appears to be headed back to Cincy, so we’re not putting him on this list.
Eric Bieniemy replacement options: Kliff Kingsbury
Recently-fired Cardinals coach Kliff Kingsbury’s Thailand vacation ended sooner than we thought. Kingsbury was said to be pondering his future in the NFL while on vacation, but he’s already jumping back into interviews, most recently interviewing with the Texans for their open OC role.
Ultimately, Kingsbury failed as a head coach and probably needs to take a more humble opportunity with a rebuilding team next. The Texans are a good fit. Kansas City has better options out there that they can pursue.
Eric Bieniemy replacement options: Todd Monken
Todd Monken brings a lot of experience to the table that the Chiefs should be interested in. Not only does he have reps at various levels of the NFL coaching ranks (wide receivers coach, offensive coordinator for multiple teams) but if he leaves his current gig, he’s leaving a team that just won back-to-back college football titles.
Clearly, he’s on a roll.
Monken knows what winning looks like, and his recent time in the college world could come with some fresh perspective that would help the Chiefs continue to add layers of dynamism to their top-tier offense.
Before Georgia, Monken’s NFL experience, though, was rough. He was an OC for the Bucs from 2016-18 and the Browns in 2019. The Browns were 20th in points per drive that year. The Bucs in Monken’s era weren’t good.
It’s hard to get a sure pulse for his NFL experience. He’s frequently been a member of mediocre or downright bad teams. Is it bad luck and the environments he’s in or is Monken part of the problem? His success at Georgia has a lot of people thinking it’s the former.
Eric Bieniemy replacement options: Thomas Brown
Los Angeles Rams assistant head coach Thomas Brown figures to be one of the newest coordinators and future head coaches in the NFL. He recently was interviewed for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers offensive coordinator opening.
Brown would be a fine hire, and clearly has respect around the league, but there are some fit issues. While an offensive coordinator doesn’t need a QB background, it certainly helps, especially when you have the best quarterback in the league in Patrick Mahomes.
Instead, the experience Brown brings to the table as an NFL coach is working with running backs and tight ends. So while he’d be great for Travis Kelce, maybe his involvement in the entire offense wouldn’t be as desired right from day one.
That said, Brown has served as an offensive coordinator (University of Miami) so he’d be a good hire if he interviews well enough. But there’s a far better option for Kansas City right under their nose.
Eric Bieniemy replacement options: Matt Nagy
Winning teams often prioritize continuity over splashy outside hires when they can help it. Consider the Bills who lost offensive coordinator Brian Daboll to the head coaching ranks last offseason and filled their vacant role with quarterback coach Ken Dorsey.
The rationale makes sense, football is a team sport and it takes a roster of talented coaches to get the job done. You probably already have the needed skills and voices in the room already if you’re looking to fill a role a rung up the ladder.
The Chiefs could go the route the Bills did and promote QB coach Matt Nagy to offensive coordinator. It’s their best option.
Nagy is a former head coach himself, so he knows the ins and outs of leadership in a locker room. He was also previously the team’s offensive coordinator before Bieniemy.
Andy Reid has a lengthy history with him. He interned for Reid when he was back with the Eagles.
You want your OC to have chemistry with your quarterback and head coach, especially when the former is Patrick Mahomes. No candidate out there comes close to matching the continuity and chemistry Nagy has been building with Mahomes since his rookie season.
One thing that could stand in the way? Nagy is getting interview attention for some of the same roles that Bieniemy is.