New Patriots head coach Mike Vrabel has taken his time putting his coaching staff together, doing some due diligence all-around ahead of the team filling its top two key positions.
The one everyone was watching was obviously the offensive coordinator job, especially given the importance that role held when it came to Drake Maye. While, in the end, Josh McDaniels ultimately did end up getting hired for the position, it sounds like there was another candidate who nearly got the job.
According to FoxSports’ Jordan Schultz, former Kansas City Chiefs offensive coordinator Eric Bieniemy was apparently in the mix, to the point where had McDaniels potentially gone elsewhere, it could very well have been Bieniemy who might have been hired.
Schultz reported on Tuesday that Bieniemy had interviewed with the Patriots and was considered to be “a top candidate” for the position, had it not been for McDaniels.
Multiple reports had indicated that McDaniels had been receiving interest elsewhere, with Albert Breer saying last week that his relationship with Ben Johnson and the Lions could have seen him replace Johnson after he moved on to Chicago.
“There were a few moving parts there,” said Breer during an appearance on 98.5 The Sports Hub last week. “I do wonder if the Ben Johnson thing accelerated the Patriots at all, just because I think he might have been a consideration in Detroit to replace Ben Johnson.”
“Josh obviously has ties here and lives here, but he’s also got two kids that go to school in the Midwest. He’s from Cleveland, which isn’t far from Detroit. I think there would have been some appeal if Dan Campbell wound up making that call. There is some familiarity there, too, in that Ben Johnson’s system is based off of Adam Gase’s system, which is based off of the Patriots system.”
Bieniemy, who left the Chiefs after the 2022 season, has struggled to find success after leaving Andy Reid. He spent one season in Washington as an assistant head coach to Ron Rivera along with being the offensive coordinator.
However, things reportedly didn’t go well, and reports indicated he had a tenuous relationship with the players. Part of that came from things like guys not being able to wear their hats backwards, hair and facial hair restrictions, and players complaining about Bieniemy’s “intensity.”
As a result, Rivera parted ways with him at the end of the season and Bieniemy went back to UCLA in 2024, which is where he previously worked as the running backs coach from 2003-2005. This time around he served as their associate head coach and offensive coordinator, but he was dismissed from that job back in December after UCLA finished 5-7. He’s now said to be looking to return to the NFL.
For now, it won’t be the Patriots where Bieniemy will get his next opportunity. But for a guy who has had a rough few years, he’s likely got a long road ahead of him as he tries to find his way back into the league.
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Ian Logue is a Seacoast native and owner and senior writer for PatsFans.com, an independent media site covering the New England Patriots and has been running this site in one form or another since 1997.
None of this matters as it’s the proverbial ‘water under the bridge’. but the article says: “Eric Bieniemy was apparently in the mix, to the point where had McDaniels potentially gone elsewhere, it could very well have been Bieniemy who might have been hired.” That reads as second priority for Bienemy, not first choice as the articke title declares. And what coach (especially Vrabel) is giving priority rankings for 1st place, 2nd place etc? None. And who cares. Its interviewing.