The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Despite head coach interviews, 2 happy where they are
Bieniemy and Saleh will face off in Super Bowl on Sunday.
Chiefs offensive coordinator Eric Bieniemy and 49ers defensive coordinator Robert Saleh, who were passed over in the last NFL head-coaching hiring cycle, will pit their groups against each other in Super Bowl LIV.
Both coaches, despite interviewing for several openings, are fine.
“It has been a blessing to have those opportunities to interview,” Bieniemy said. “Not everybody has that opportunity. It was a great process.”
Saleh said, “You still have to go work and do your job and do the best that you can. If you’re given an opportunity, you do the best you can in that opportunity. If another opportunity arises, great. You continue to grind and continue to do the job that you’re being asked to do.”
Bieniemy, who played nine seasons in the NFL from 199199 for the Chargers, Bengals and Eagles, is running the Chiefs’ potent offense. Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce believes Bieniemy would be a fantastic head coach.
“I think Bieniemy has done wonders for my career both mentally, personally and on the field,” Kelce said. “He’s somebody who can get a group of young men to all come together and fight for one goal. That’s a special talent when you’re talking about leadership and being a head coach.”
Bieniemy has been coaching in the NFL since 2006.
“Does it feel good to know that my players respect me? Yes, it does,” Bieniemy said. “Because they know the only thing I do is make sure that I can give them the best opportunity to go out there to be the best that they can be. That’s my job as a coach.”
If Bieniemy doesn’t get an NFL head coaching job, he’s fine.
“I don’t want everybody to feel that they have to feel sorry for me,” Bieniemy said. “This is not what this is about. I’m in a great place. I coach for the Kansas City Chiefs, and we are playing in the Super Bowl. So, all the other stuff ? It would’ve been nice to get a head coaching job, but when it’s all said and done with, I’m blessed and fortunate to sit here right here with you guys having this conversation about how we are going to go into this game on Sunday and take care of our business.”
Saleh’s brother survived the Sept. 11 attacks, and talking with him changed the course of Saleh’s career.
“It was tough, talking to my brother and looking at things through his lens and asking him if he had not been able to achieve what he wanted even though he made it,” Saleh said. “What if he didn’t? Was he really doing what he wanted to do? For me, it got me asking myself am I doing what I want to do?
“The answer was no. So, that got me into coaching. That had a profound effect.”
Saleh quit his corporate banking job for Comerica Bank’s world headquarters.
“I just wasn’t happy,” Saleh said. He started coaching college, including a onemonth stop at Georgia in 2005 as a defensive assistant, and has been in the NFL since 2005.