New York Giants head coach candidate Eric Bieniemy gets a huge endorsement from Andy Reid. Will that be enough to get him the job?
It was reported earlier this week that the New York Giants will interview Eric Bieniemy for their head coaching vacancy. They aren’t the only team that’s interested. Bieniemy will also interview with the Panthers and the Browns.
This is the second-straight year that Bieniemy is a hot head coaching candidate. In last year’s hiring cycle, Bieniemy interviewed for four teams. He didn’t end up with any of the jobs, but after another impressive season calling plays for the Chiefs offense, he’s once again a top candidate.
Now, his boss, Andy Reid, is endorsing his offensive coordinator for the Giants gig.
Reid gave Bieniemy his first NFL job in 2013 when he hired him as the team’s running backs coach. Bieniemy held that position for five seasons, and in 2018 he was promoted to offensive coordinator.
Reid believes Bieniemy is ready for the next step and spoke glowingly of his pupil to reporters on Monday.
He told SNY, “I think he’d be tremendous. There’s a team out there — I don’t know the team, but there’s a team out there — that could really use him. Being the leader of men that he is, you’re not going to find people better than that in that category. And he’s a sharp offensive mind on top of that. So I’m a big fan.”
Reid has the largest and most successful coaching tree in the NFL. His most successful disciple also coaches in the NFC East, Doug Pederson. Bieniemy and Pederson were on the same staff from 2013-2015.
Unfortunately, Bieniemy has a checkered past off the field. During his time as an NFL running back, Bieniemy had a number of runs in with the law. Specifically, Bieniemy had issues with drinking and driving.
That issue persisted during his coaching career. During his time as University of Colorado’s RBs coach, Bieniemy was arrested for a DUI.
Lastly, during his time at Colorado, many of the players were accused of rape. Bieniemy was under investigation, but left the school before the situation escalated.
All of those issues are around 20 years old. He hasn’t had any recent issues with the law. So, it’s possible all of that is behind him. However, it does put his potential leadership ability in question.
