What's next for Eric Bieniemy after Commanders hiring of Kliff Kingsbury?
When he did not get a head coaching job in last year's hiring cycle, Eric Bieniemy took a chance on a lateral move by becoming the offensive coordinator of the Washington Commanders. It is probably fair to say that chance has not worked out as he hoped. His future is again looking very uncertain after the Commanders hired former Arizona Cardinals head coach Kliff Kingsbury as their new offensive coordinator on Sunday night.
That move comes just days after the Commanders hired Dan Quinn to be their new head coach and it means more change for Bieniemy, who was again an afterthought in this year's head-coaching hiring cycle.
He still had one more year on his contract.
One of the things that made Washington such a promising destination for Bieniemy – even in a lateral move – was that he was seemingly going to be next in line for a head-coaching opportunity if and when former head coach Ron Rivera was fired. But when the Commanders moved on from Rivera after the season, they opted for the defensive-minded Quinn and then completely overhauled the offensive coaching staff.
Assuming Bieniemy returns to the market, his options at this point are going to be very limited.
There are no head-coaching vacancies remaining, and the only two offensive coordinator openings are with the Los Angeles Chargers (which could be filled by Greg Roman) and the Seattle Seahawks.
It is possible that a team with an offensive coordinator in place might make a change knowing that Bieniemy is again on the market, but that is far from a given.
If that were to happen one intriguing option would be a potential return to Kansas City.
Even though they are back in the Super Bowl the Chiefs offense took a significant step backwards this season under Matt Nagy and a reunion with Bieniemy could be an option to help get it back to where it has been in recent years.
The true wild-card possibility would be if Chiefs head coach Andy Reid decided to call it a career after the Super Bowl. That rumor has been floated in recent weeks and while it's unclear how close it is to reality, it would create another head-coaching opening. Given Bieniemy's history with the Chiefs, that opening could be a possibility for him.
Outside of taking a consultant role or a lesser role or simply taking a year off, those are the options at this point.
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