The Jets announced on Wednesday that they had completed their interview with the Chiefs’ offensive coordinator, Eric Bieniemy, for his debut as head coach.
Bieniemy is the first person to be interviewed for the job. The Chiefs are the No. 1 seed in the AFC playoffs and bid farewell this weekend, allowing Bieniemy to do an interview this week. Other candidates whose teams play this weekend must wait until after the games to be interviewed.
This is the second time the Jets have interviewed Bieniemy. The Jets interviewed him in 2019 before signing Adam Gase, who was fired on Sunday after two seasons with the team.
Bieniemy, 51, has been the offensive coordinator in Kansas City for three seasons. The Chiefs ended the No. 1 attack in the NFL this year. The biggest question about Bieniemy is how much credit he deserves for the Chiefs’ success and how much he owes to coach Andy Reid and quarterback Patrick Mahomes. It is unclear how much Bieniemy has to say in play-calling with Reid mainly delivering these functions.
The first round of interviews is being conducted virtually. The Jets will likely bring some coaches to Florham Park for a second interview later in the process. The Jets also requested interviews with Colts defensive coordinator Matt Eberflus, Titans offensive coordinator Arthur Smith, Bills offensive coordinator Brian Daboll, and Rams defensive coordinator Brandon Staley. They are all part of playoff teams with games this weekend, so the interviews will only take place next week.