Eric Bieniemy addresses USC opening
Eric Bieniemy addressed the USC opening on Thursday.
The job opened on Monday, and Bieniemy was mentioned as a candidate by ESPN's lead NFL reporter a day later.
What follows are a lot of words without really saying anything.
"I am where my feet are,'' Bieniemy said Thursday, via ESPN. "When it's all said and done, I am focused on the task at hand. I'm not worried about anything, where my name is being mentioned. My job right now is to make sure that we're preparing for this weekend's opponent.
"If USC reached out to me right now, my answer would be 'I am preparing for this team to play against the Baltimore Ravens.' That's how I roll ... My job is to make sure that we're ready to play a complete, sound, 60-minute football game so that we can come out and win the game.''
No one would expect anything different at this point, given the Trojans still have 10 games between today and the end of the regular season.
Certainly there's a strain of the football-observing public that won't believe anything any coach says regarding any opening until that job is filled, as is their right. But Bieniemy could have significantly wounded -- because they can't be flat-out killed -- any connection between him and USC by saying something to the effect of, "USC is a great job, but my goal is to be an NFL head coach and I'm confident that will happen in good time." He chose not to do that.
Of course, if Bieniemy is harboring a secret interest in USC, he'll have to speed up his time line because the Trojans aren't waiting until the end of the Chiefs' season to identify, negotiate with and hire Clay Helton's successor.
