With the Eagles requesting an interview with Eric Bieniemy, the Chiefs’ offensive coordinator is now 7 by 7 in meeting requests during this hiring period. However, the third-year CB again had problems with the interview circuit. Despite being Andy ReidBieniemy’s right-hand man during the most successful period in the history of the Chiefs, can go to a third cycle without getting a job as a coach. It’s a trend in that direction, Jonathan Jones of CBS Sports tweets. Bieniemy did not give a good interview last year and encountered similar problems during this cycle, according to Tony Pauline and Benjamin Allbright of ProFootballNetwork.com.
Although the Texans changed course and sent a request to speak to Bieniemy, as they deal with a disaffected Deshaun WatsonJason La Canfora of CBS Sports notes that the interview is dubious. With the Chiefs’ goodbye week over, any team that wants to meet Bieniemy going forward must wait until the end of the Kansas City season. If No. 1 chefs manage to get back to the Super Bowl, the remaining positions can be filled by then. Three teams occupied their positions; Lions are expected to hire saints’ assistants soon Dan Campbell; shippers may be focusing on third-year OC accounts Brian Daboll. This would leave only Houston and Philadelphia jobs available. Although Bieniemy is not the main author of his team’s game to make him an atypical candidate for HC on the offensive side of the ball, it would certainly be strange if he left another season without getting a coaching position.
Here are the latest news from the training circuit:
- Stay with the Texans, they will interview another Bills coordinator this weekend. They will talk to Buffalo DC Leslie Frazier on Sunday, Aaron Wilson of the Houston Chronicle tweets. Frazier, who has been Buffalo’s defensive player, has resurfaced on HC’s radar after four seasons as Buffalo DC under Sean McDermott. Support is growing for Frazier with the Texans, La Canfora notes. Since the Vikings ended Frazier’s more than three-year season as head coach after the 2013 season, he has coordinated two teams (the Bucs and the Bills) and trained the Ravens’ secondary.
- In hiring Arthur Smith, a Falcons it almost certainly has its offensive play marker in place. But they identified Smith’s right-hand man in the Bears pass game coordinator Dave Ragone. The Chicago assistant emerged as one of the first favorites to become OC of Atlanta, with Jeremy Fowler of ESPN.com tweeting a Smith-Ragone partnership executing the Falcons attack has a “good chance” to happen. Ragone has been with the Bears since 2016.
- Now this Chuck Pagano retired, the Bears are looking for a new defensive coordinator. Defensive line coach Jay Rodgers and security coach Sean Desai are the main internal candidates for Pagano’s succession, according to Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (Twitter Link) Rodgers served as a D-line coach under John Fox in Denver and followed him to Chicago in 2015. Rodgers’ contract expires next week, and Rapoport notes that he should be a candidate for DC for other teams in the next few days as well.
- Marion Hobby will make a transfer to the defense team of another AFC team. O Bengals are hiring veteran assistant D-line coach Ben Baby of ESPN.com tweets. Hobby, who has spent six seasons as Clemson’s defensive co-coordinator under Dabo Swinney, has trained the Dolphins and Jaguars D lines in the four seasons since then. Hobby was with Jacksonville when the team’s “Sacksonville” D-line took a race for the AFC title game.