Alright, this is beyond ridiculous. How many brilliant offensive minds will be hired as head coaches before Eric Bieniemy? The Kansas City Chiefs offensive guru helped orchestrate the team’s second Super Bowl in four years, both of which featured double-digit comebacks. Yet, the Indianapolis Colts opted to hire the losing coordinator, bringing in Shane Steichen, the Eagles’ OC.
I’m not here to rip Steichen or question his worthiness. On Sunday, Philadelphia moved the ball more or less at will, too, and simply never got a chance at a rebuttal. Jalen Hurts outplayed Patrick Mahomes, and the strides Hurts has made from year one to year three are really impressive. I’m just not sure why we diminish Bienemy’s role in developing Mahomes.
Who gets credit for star quarterbacks?
This subject always fascinates me because the logic is mind-boggling. Aaron Rodgers’s endorsement of Nathaniel Hackett is enough to get him the Denver Broncos vacancy even though he didn’t call plays in Green Bay, but Andy Reid and Mahomes caping for Bienemy isn’t enough?
While I know Denver hired Hackett as Rodgers’s chum, it’s even more of an insult if Buddy Whack-it got one of the most coveted jobs in the NFL because he’s got Aaron direct contact. You don’t think Bienemy has Mahomes on speed dial?
Reid’s coaching tree features two guys with rings, so don’t give me the “Bienemy doesn’t call the plays” shit. Kansas City scored every time they touched the ball in the second half, and the Chiefs’ skill players were running free on most of those drives. They executed a game plan that saw the league MVP throw for 182 yards, and still put up 38 points. The Eagles’ defense didn’t have a sack or come close to forcing a turnover.
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Is it because Hurts went from glorified game manager to near MVP, and Mahomes came in and was polished from the start? If that’s the case, Mahomes went from 5-7 at Texas Tech to NFL league MVP and Super Bowl champion in his first season as a starter.
If the real reason Bienemy isn’t a head coach is the allegation of violence toward women, say that
Bienemy is the go-to example for Black coaches getting passed over for head coaching positions, and if the internet is to be believed, it’s due to a list of allegations against him stemming from his time in Boulder as a player and then coach, including reports that he grabbed a female parking lot attendant by the neck and threatened her.
If that’s causing owners’ trepidation, that’s 100 percent fair. Fighting in bars, drinking under the influence, and assaulting women isn’t conduct befitting the leader of an NFL franchise. It’s just never stopped owners before. The roster of NFL personnel who have done something heinous toward women and kept their jobs (and sometimes been promoted) is way too fucking long to single out Bienemy.
I’m not saying it’s right. I’m just saying it’s reality, and the reality is owners would be falling all over themselves to make excuses to hire a Bienemy if he was white.
Since when did Jim Irsay start caring about character?
The Indianapolis owner is one of the NFL’s least likable in a group of very detestable people. Irsay had a previous DWI charge — he plead guilty to misdemeanor DUI — and has admitted to substance abuse issues, and before Steichen was hired, Colts fans started a petition to keep the team from hiring ESPN analyst-turned-interim-head-coach Jeff Saturday full-time.
Irsay recently had a brief moment of clarity regarding Washington’s overlord Dan Snyder, saying there’s merit to removing the Commander in chief. But he eventually walked that back because if one falls, they all shall fall. (Or at least that’s the fear of owners — and white males in positions of power in general.)
So, yeah, good luck with your new boss, Shane.
