The Eagles have requested permission to interview Chiefs offensive coordinator Eric Bieniemy for their head coaching opening, NFL Network’s Mike Garafolo reported Saturday afternoon.
Bieniemy, considered one of the top candidates for head coaching jobs for several years now, was a teammate of Doug Pederson on Andy Reid’s 1999 Eagles and holds the same position now with the Chiefs — offensive coordinator — that Pederson held when the Eagles hired him from Kansas City after the 2015 season.
Bieniemy, 51, has been Reid’s offensive coordinator for three years and during that period the Chiefs rank No. 1 in the NFL in points, yards and yards per play. They’re an NFL-best 38-10 during that span (tied with the Saints) with a Super Bowl championship last year.
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The Eagles can’t interview Bieniemy until the Chiefs lose or have a bye week before the Super Bowl. They face the Browns in Kansas on Sunday.
Bieniemy played college football at Colorado and was the Chargers’ 2nd-round pick in 1991. He spent nine years in the NFL, mainly with the Chargers and Bengals, but he finished his career with the Eagles in 1999, Reid’s first year as head coach.
If he's hired, he'll become the 11th former Reid assistant to become an NFL head coach and the ninth one who was either a player or coach on the 1999 Eagles.
Bieniemy coached at Colorado and UCLA before getting his first NFL job in 2006 as running backs coach with the Vikings under Brad Childress, who had been the Eagles’ quarterbacks coach in 1999 under Reid. Childress gave him the title assistant head coach in 2010, and Bieniemy finished that season coaching under Leslie Frazier, another former Reid coach, when Childress was fired.
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Bieniemy went back to Colorado as offensive coordinator in 2011 and 2012 under Jon Embree before Reid hired him in 2013 as running backs coach on his first Chiefs staff. In his five years in that role, the Chiefs ranked 7th in the NFL in rushing yards and second with 4.6 yards per carry.
When the Bears hired Matt Nagy as head coach after the 2017 season, Reid promoted Bieniemy to offensive coordinator.
During the Chiefs’ bye week as the top seed in the AFC playoffs, Bieniemy interviewed with the Texans and Falcons, and he’s been linked with openings with the Chargers, Jaguars, Falcons and Jets as well.
With the Jets hiring 49ers defensive coordinator Robert Saleh, the Jaguars hiring former Ohio State head coach Urban Meyer, the Falcons hiring Titans offensive coordinator Arthur Smith and the Lions closing in on hiring Saints tight ends coach Dan Campbell, the only teams still without head coaches are the Texans, Chargers and Eagles.
Over the last couple years, Bieniemy has interviewed for previous head coaching vacancies with the Jets, Giants, Dolphins, Bengals, Buccaneers, Panthers and Browns without getting an offer.
The Eagles have already interviewed Saleh, Smith, long-time Eagles assistant coach Duce Staley, Panthers offensive coordinator Joe Brady and Patriots inside linebacker coach Jerod Mayo for their head coaching vacancy.
Other candidates they’re known to have requested interviews with are Buccaneers defensive coordinator Todd Bowles, Cowboys offensive coordinator Kellen Moore, Rams defensive coordinator Brandon Staley and Patriots offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels.
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