Eric Bieniemy hired as associate HC/OC at UCLA
February 24th, 2024 at 8:24 PM ^
I’ve always been intrigued about how he was the most successful OC for a good portion of the past decade with KC, and never even was given a shot as a HC. I understand he had the best QB in the NFL and Andy Reid is the mastermind behind everything, but usually the coordinator of the best offense or defense at least is given a shot some where.
February 24th, 2024 at 8:37 PM ^
at this point I have to assume he is the worst interview in sports. they've interviewed david shaw (yes I know it was likely only a rooney rule interview) more recently for nfl HC jobs
February 24th, 2024 at 9:02 PM ^
allegedly there are some character issues in his background. i know nothing about them, may be completely untrue/unfair, but that was the scuttlebutt a few years ago.
February 25th, 2024 at 2:21 AM ^
I wouldn't characterize them as alleged. From receiving a campus ban as a student to a DUI to being a coordinator for a team that rivaled Baylor in sexual assault there is a bunch of baggage. Not to mention, Andy Reid has a long history of overlooking problematic behavior (see his sons as exhibit A).
February 25th, 2024 at 5:28 AM ^
It didn't help that KC was deep in the playoffs the years he was there and Bieniemy couldn't interview in person until KC's season was over. By then, a lot of the HC jobs had been filled.
February 25th, 2024 at 7:19 AM ^
Overlooking?
Where does he have a long history of "overlooking" his sons problematic behavior?
Just curious.
February 25th, 2024 at 8:31 AM ^
The Reid sons have a long history problems with drugs (heroine and steroids!), DUIs and guns. One of them committed suicide in the fall of Andy Reid's worst year with the Eagles causing him to be let go. The common narrative when you have a 80 hour a week job for your entire career and you kids have troubles is that you neglected them.
That said, "overlooking" is hard to prove. Kids are a crapshoot. Weather you kid has ADHD, Autism, bipolar, introversion, depression, anxiety, social anxiety, addictive personality or is unattractive, unathletic or uncool, etc. is largely out of your control. We've worked with our kids on a few issues by giving them extra attention, but we were lucky that it worked.
My best friend from high school drank himself to death/committed suicide at 50. He was captain of the football team and home coming king and had loving attentive parents who would do anything for him. (They moved so he could play sports at a larger program.)
Overlooking is probably fine for the internet message board neglected theme, and probably has elements of truth, but in real life I agree with you. It isn't a fair characterization of something we really know nothing about.
February 25th, 2024 at 12:11 PM ^
Kids are, yes, a crap shoot, but only a partial one. It's the "nurture" part that good parenting can address, sometimes to counter a problematic "nature" part delivered via DNA.
A great parent or parents can teach, instill, encourage and develop compensatory skills and behaviors over the course of the relationship that overcome issues, deficiencies, weaknesses, etc. I know of one family with a high functioning, dyscalculic Aspergers Syndrome son who worked to become the senior staff accountant at a well established bank.
It's far from easy to do this and the parenting work is challenging, but, with dedication, it can be done.
February 25th, 2024 at 12:29 PM ^
I agree with everything you've said, but for me, it wasn't even that deep.
I was just wondering how someone could say Reid was overlooking his sons' troubled past without any shred of proof.
It's just a strange comment.
It would be like me saying, "JJ McCarthy is a great kid, his parents were A+ level parents...the gold standard of parenting."
I mean that's a weird comment, how the heck would I know that to be accurate?
However, if there was something I missed about Reid being a shit dad who overlooked his sons' history of issues with drugs and/or alcohol...then that's on me.
And with it being "Exhibit A," I assumed there was something to go off of.
February 25th, 2024 at 2:42 PM ^
It is one thing to have kids and they have trouble. It is whole other level when you hire your troublesome kids and watch them kill themselves or nearly kill others. I don't have the time to dig up stories 10+ years old, but Reid knew about his son's heroin addiction and still brought him into the team. From what I recall (I'm a life-long Eagles fan), he had two sons go into rehab multiple times. Then, while one was still hooked he hired him in the S&C role. A couple months later he was dead. If that is not overlooking issues, then I don't know what is. Every other executive in America would be fired if they displayed the same degree of recklessness.
February 25th, 2024 at 12:02 PM ^
Just among the sons he has directly employed, one OD'd during training camp while working as a S&C assistant. Another is currently in jail for for a DUI that left a 5 year old in a coma for weeks.
February 24th, 2024 at 9:04 PM ^
I live in the DC area so local radio talking heads were examining the possibility of him being an HC for a whole year before, during and after the past season. Word from the Commodes' er Commanders' team has been that he is difficult to work with -- "my way or the highway." He's unapologetic about it, and while he doesn't seem to be mean or a dick, apparently he's just too inflexible if not abrasive.
On top of that, he might not be good on his own. Having Patrick Mahomes and Andy Reid will cover up a lot of bad coaching. Having Sam Howell and Ron Rivera, notsomuch.
The fact the franchise knew him well and he didn't crack the finalists for the opened gig says all you need to know.
(I am secretly rooting for them to trade back and draft JJ... ok wait guess it's not a secret anymore.)
February 25th, 2024 at 5:31 AM ^
"he is difficult to work with -- "my way or the highway." He's unapologetic about it, and he doesn't seem to be mean about it, but it apparently he's just abrasive"
That's what people said about Bo when he first came to Ann Arbor.
February 25th, 2024 at 10:47 AM ^
NFL is a totally different ballgame when it comes to that sort of stuff.
In college you run everything and you’re dealing with 17-23 year olds. In the NFL you’re answering to the GM/Owner. You’re dealing with multi-millionaire football players that are older and have bigger egos than your typical college player.
February 25th, 2024 at 11:20 AM ^
It's not 1969 anymore. You may not have noticed, but a LOT of things have changed.
February 25th, 2024 at 12:09 PM ^
And Bo and Bieniemy both have a proven history of overlooking sexual assault as a coach, great comparison
February 25th, 2024 at 4:06 PM ^
Yeah, but Bo was white
February 24th, 2024 at 8:26 PM ^
Good hire by UCLA
I do not think Foster was a prudent hire. This could be a plan B in case that blows up.
February 24th, 2024 at 8:42 PM ^
At one point he was a hot commodity... Only two years ago. And to now become the OC at UCLA, a team who lost Chip Kelly to OSU as an OC.
Should have never left KC if not for an HC job.
February 24th, 2024 at 9:06 PM ^
Became clear noone was going to give him a shot with Reid pulling the strings. You can understand what he tried to do by taking the reigns over a bad offense to try to prove himself HC material... but yeah, that bet didn't pay off.
February 24th, 2024 at 9:32 PM ^
If Bieniemy hadn’t left KC, tho, I couldn’t make “Matt Nagy has more Super Bowl rings than Aaron Rodgers.” jokes.
February 24th, 2024 at 9:47 PM ^
At no point was he a hot commodity. That’s kinda been his problem.
February 24th, 2024 at 9:01 PM ^
Eric "Sleeping With" Bieniemy
- Chris Berman
February 24th, 2024 at 9:10 PM ^
In the 90's I came up with a few Bermanisms:
- Al let go of my Del Greco (a play on let go of my Eggos)
- Jeff kidnapped and taken Hostetler
- Tyrone you better eat your Wheatley
- Chris just a phone Callaway.
February 24th, 2024 at 10:36 PM ^
Oddibe young again McDowell.
February 24th, 2024 at 11:24 PM ^
Miguel “Singing” Indurain.
Mike "Oh My God They" Kilkenny.
February 24th, 2024 at 10:05 PM ^
The enemy of Bieniemy?
February 24th, 2024 at 10:17 PM ^
I always liked "Public" Bieniemy from his Colorado running back days. Because I love Public Enemy.
February 24th, 2024 at 10:39 PM ^
Maybe UCLA got confused and decided the enemy of Bieniemy is their friend.
February 25th, 2024 at 12:16 AM ^
Bert be home Blyleven.
February 24th, 2024 at 9:03 PM ^
A journalist should really dig into why Bienemy can’t get a look for a HC job.
After this past hiring season which saw three coaches who are black get hired I am not sure racism can be used anymore as a reason why. Maybe I am wrong.
February 24th, 2024 at 9:36 PM ^
My guess is either:
1) He’s a terrible interview.
2) He’s so difficult to work with that you’d rather hire a retread than take your chances with him.
3) It’s clear after talking with him that Reid is who pulled the strings, Mahomes made him look that good, and he was simply along for the ride.
February 24th, 2024 at 10:17 PM ^
It’s almost as if you’ve read this thread…
February 24th, 2024 at 10:19 PM ^
It's almost as if Sal Q hasn't.
February 25th, 2024 at 5:56 AM ^
Washington’s offense ranked 23rd in 2022.
Washington’s offense ranked 24th in 2023.
End of interview.
February 24th, 2024 at 10:26 PM ^
In his playing days, he had a bunch of legal issues involving alcohol and an incident in which he allegedly grabbed a female cop. But the last incident was like 20-25 years ago, so...
February 24th, 2024 at 10:48 PM ^
Bieniemy has been arrested 5x and was on Colorado’s staff in the early 2000’s during their rape/recruiting scandal. Granted, most of those issues were in his younger days but that’s a lot to answer for, especially in the days of social media backlash. Add in the fact he was a non-play calling OC under an all-time great coach and QB and I don’t think you ever had a head coaching lock like so many have suggested the past few years regardless of what his personality or interview skills are these days.
February 25th, 2024 at 8:04 AM ^
Hiring him into college after his history there... yikes.
February 25th, 2024 at 8:19 AM ^
His resume is really impressive, but it's interesting to see his trajectory since leaving KC. Washington sucked, and now he's an OC at UCLA? Granted UCLA is a great school, they aren't in that top tier of CFB schools right now. It is interesting to see that he was offered the head coaching job at Colorado after being their OC in 2011-12. I believe Deions kids will be done after this next season at Colorado, along with Travis Hunter, and I could see him getting offers from bigger teams.
February 25th, 2024 at 8:36 AM ^
Many of us are Lions fans...think Matt Patricia. A seemingly very good coach on very good teams. Took only 1 year in Detroit to realize he was a disaster on his own. I doubt Bieniemy is at THAT level, but being sucessful with Mahomes and Reid....sneaking suspicion he didn't have much to do with it.
February 25th, 2024 at 1:47 PM ^
Apparently some of his players hated him the way Patricia's players did too
February 25th, 2024 at 11:29 AM ^
Pretty much, an NFL HC has to be a CEO and visionary thinker. Not the best of his lot at a Coordinator level. Dan Campbell's "going to bite a kneecap off" showed the guy had a vision for toughness, then hired a staff to motivate at the next level.
EB sounds like a Peter Principle guy - he's better than Matt P whose D melted down vs. Nick Foles in the SB and then the Eagles D got even worse under his leadership last year. He needs to show that he can develop the staff under him (RB coach, etc.) as well as take a no-name QB and turn him into college equivalent of Cade McNown.
If he was as good as he looked at KC, JH would have taken him to SD. That says a lot.
February 25th, 2024 at 1:56 PM ^
The funny thing with Bienemy is that some seem so pressed to justify why he’s never been hired as a HC while completely ignoring the fact that the same sorts of issues have been overlooked with various other head coaches. Once you account for the similarities, there really are only a few plausible explanations left.
February 25th, 2024 at 5:16 PM ^
What other NFL head coach has been arrested 5x and was on a coaching staff that was hit by allegations of overlooking rape/sexual assault allegations? I’m having a hard time coming up with one but if there’s one I’ve forgotten (or multiple since you said ‘various’) please enlighten me.