The Washington Commanders are finalizing a deal to make Eric Bieniemy their offensive coordinator, according to multiple reports on Friday.
Washington's courtship of Bieniemy was an interesting one, in that both sides talked openly about wanting it to happen.
Bieniemy has been the coordinator of the NFL's best offense for the past five seasons -- a run that has seen the Chiefs host five straight AFC title games, reach three Super Bowls, and win two. Coordinators have nabbed head coaching jobs for far less.
The obstacle between Bieniemy and the head coach's chair has been the knock that he doesn't call plays for Kansas City, even though that didn't stop former non-play calling Chiefs OC Matt Nagy from getting the Chicago Bears head coaching job, and even though the job of a play-caller and a head coach are quite different.
"Eric Bieniemy has been tremendous for us, and I think he's tremendous for the National Football League," Andy Reid said earlier this week. "I'm hoping he has an opportunity to go somewhere and do his thing, where he can run the show and be Eric Bieniemy."
For reasons that are opaque for some and blindingly obvious for others, Bieniemy's path to a head coaching role requires an extra step, with one of the NFL's most downtrodden, consistently dysfunctional franchises. The 53-year-old is going from the reigning Super Bowl champions to a team that hasn't won so much as a single playoff game since 2005. He joins a division that's suddenly become the toughest in the NFL, which produced three of the NFC's seven playoff teams, including the conference champion.
If Bieniemy succeeds as a play-calling coordinator in Washington, he'll become the most overqualified first-time head coach in NFL history.
As always, stay tuned to The Scoop for the latest.
Sources: The #Commanders and #Chiefs OC Eric Bieniemy are finalizing a deal for him to be their new offensive coordinator. Ron Rivera’s first choice all along. Should be official tomorrow. https://t.co/f4WTR2AtDi
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) February 17, 2023
Washington offered its offensive coordinator job to Chiefs’ OC Eric Bieniemy and is hoping to finalize deal by Saturday, per sources.
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) February 17, 2023
The Commanders have offered Chiefs OC Eric Bieniemy their offensive coordinator job, he's accepted it, and the expectation is a deal will be in place within a day or so. Bieniemy spent the day meeting with offensive coaches, with decisions coming on that side of the staff.
— Albert Breer (@AlbertBreer) February 17, 2023