Bieniemy misses out on head coach job

K A NSA S CITY, MO. » Tyreek Hill was thrilled to hear that his first wide receivers coach, David Culley, was going to be an NFL head coach.

He was baffled by the fact his current offensive coordinator once again will not.

After interviewing for six openings, Chiefs offensive coordinator Eric Bieniemy ultimately was passed over during the annual coaching carousel.

That became official when the Houston Texans hired Culley, the long-time Andy Reid assistant who had been the assistant head coach in Baltimore.

“I mean, I’m not a GM or anything but I will say, Coach Bieniemy has helped me a lot,” Hill said Thursday, after the Chiefs finished their first real practice for the Super Bowl. “It’s very shocking that he didn’t get a job.”

The Jets were interested but hired Robert Saleh from San Francisco — the coordinator that couldn’t stop Bieniemy’s offense in the fourth quarter of last year’s Super Bowl. The Falcons zeroed in on Titans offensive coordinator Arthur Smith and the

Chargers went with Brandon Staley from the Rams. The Lions took Dan Campbell from the Saints and the Eagles hired the Colts’ Nick Sirianni, who broke into the NFL with Kansas City under then-coach Todd Haley.

Just about the only job that Bieniemy never seemed a possibility was Jacksonville, which had focused on Urban Meyer all along. Yet even the Jaguars brought Reid’s right-hand man in for an interview early in the search process.

“I’m glad I have him but I’m not-so glad I have him,” Reid said. “I was really hoping he would have an opportunity to take one of these jobs. You know what I think of him. I think he’s great, and I think he would be great for any number of teams that opened up and help them win football game and also develop men into men. I think he’s a great person that way.”

Bieniemy has taken the high road when he’s been asked about being a head coach. He insists that his focus is only on helping the Chiefs prepare for the Buccaneers in the Super Bowl, and that he will get his opportunity to be a head coach eventually if he deserves it.