NOTE: Originally published in January 2016 but with the news that Bieniemy is the Chiefs new OC we are bumping this up! -Joel
The Kansas City Chiefs have a number of coach and GM candidates on their team as the hiring cycle is starting to heat up. Multiple reports have linked Chiefs OC Doug Pederson to the Eagles where they say he will be interviewing after Saturday's game. (For the record, Pederson said publicly he hasn't been contacted by teams.) There's also director of football operations Chris Ballard who is reportedly interviewing for the Titans GM job.
The Chiefs still have other coaches worthy of a promotion, including DC Bob Sutton and special teams coordinator Dave Toub. While I don't know of any interviews with those two this year, there has been head coaching interest in the past.
Here's another potential coaching candidate down the road that we haven't talked much about: Chiefs RB coach Eric Bieniemy. LaDainian Tomlinson was on the Rich Eisen Show this week and gushed about the job Bieniemy has done. (Transcribed version below)
Entering playoffs, @LT_21 likes one team in particular in the AFC... https://t.co/J9nIAHFok1
— Rich Eisen (@richeisen) January 9, 2016
"The running backs coach, Eric Bieniemy," LT said. "I'm telling you, man, this guy is a star in the making. Just like with Hue Jackson, I think Eric Bieniemy is the next coach to see a coordinator job or a possible head coach job down the line. I'm saying that because he's the reason why those young guys are performing the way they're performing. I went to the Chiefs training camp and the one thing that I saw was Eric Bieniemy on the field before practice started with those young guys, Spencer Ware and Charcandrick West. He was out there working with them, getting them ready just in case something like this happens."
He seems like a very high energy coach. Bieniemy's name was floated at one time so it's not totally off the radar. The typical head coaching job comes after you're a coordinator. So I wonder if Pederson does head to the Eagles, would Bieniemy be the in-house candidate to replace him at OC?