GET IT RIGHT THIS TIME
After missing on Bieniemy once, Jets need to take another look
He moved down the sideline, holding a color-coded play sheet and letting every single one of his players on the bench know that he was not happy. His mask slowly slipped below the bridge of his nose. His right arm flailed. The headset tumbled off his bald head, but he kept barking.
Eric Bieniemy had seen enough of the blunders. Sure, the Chiefs had rolled up four touchdowns in the first half against the Ravens in a Week 3 Monday Night showdown, but the second half started off with mistakes. Unacceptable mistakes.
And the Kansas City offensive coordinator had seen enough. The sloppy play was going to stop. Now.
There will be plenty of worthy candidates in the upcoming NFL head coaching cycle, but few will come with the Bieniemy’s skills.
Two years after the Jets interviewed Bieniemy for their head coaching vacancy, Gang
Green should circle back during its next search after the season.
“He is a leader of men,”
Chiefs head coach Andy Reid said Wednesday of his pupil. “He’s disciplined, but he knows when to relax. He’s very intelligent. He knows how to balance that.”
The Jets can’t afford to make the same mistake as two years ago. They can’t underestimate the power of leadership and accountability. They don’t necessarily have to land Patton, but it’ll be critical to find a head coach who commands respect from all corners of the organization. Salesmen need not apply.
Bieniemy possesses so many qualities in need on 1 Jets Drive at the moment.
“He’s a person that can bring people together,” said Reid, whose Chiefs (6-1) will host the 0-7 Jets on Sunday. “And that’s a special quality to have. That’s not easy. I saw it (when he was) a captain of our Philly team. I saw it as a running backs coach. Everybody he touched turned out to be good. I see it now when he’s in there with Patrick (Mahomes) and how he’s handled that. And Patrick’s pretty good, I’d say.”
“When you’re around him every day, you know it,” Reid continued. “In an hour interview, are you going to know it? I don’t know that. But I can tell you if you get a chance to be around him a while, you’re going to be better for it.”
Reid admittedly is “a little partial” to Bieniemy because of everything he’s seen from the man dating back to his playing days. Bieniemy played his final season on Reid’s first Eagles team in 1999. Reid added Bieniemy to his coaching staff when he was hired by the Chiefs in 2013. Bieniemy was promoted from running backs coach to offensive coordinator in 2018.
He’s been passed over for head coaching jobs in the past two hiring cycles, but his time is on the horizon. Reid, one of the best offensive minds of this generation, said that Bieniemy shares in formulating the weekly offensive gameplans.
“It’s not just me doing it,” Reid said. “He’s actually on the headset with the quarterback. I’m not. He has tremendous input on what we’re calling and not calling. I don’t think that’s an issue at all.”
His ability to command a room isn’t in doubt. “You never have to worry about Eric Bieniemy,” Reid said. “He’s as solid as a rock… You don’t worry about what he knows, doesn’t know… I love the guy. I don’t want to lose him. I know it’s inevitable. He’s a phenomenal football coach, knowing the X’s and O’s… but his ability to reach players I think is pretty special.”
There’s only one Andy Reid, but Bieniemy has had a terrific teacher in the Super Bowl winning coach. He’s grinded the last eight years as an NFL assistant. He’s done it the right way.
The Jets are in dire need of a strong presence to lead them past these dark days. eneral manager Joe Douglas needs a leader, communicator and winner to help him pull this organization out of the abyss. The Jets need a pillar to set the proper foundation.
Eric Bieniemy might be the right guy at the right time for the right franchise.