6 Candidates who could replace Nick Sirianni if he doesn’t survive

Possible replacements for Nick Sirianni: Eric Bieniemy

Current status: Offensive coordinator of the Kansas City Chiefs

We’ve all heard the criticisms of Eric Bieniemy before, most of which don’t sound like real criticism or an indictment on something that he’s done wrong. How much of the Chiefs’ success on offense can be thrown in his direction? Does he have anything to do with that success? Is he simply a stand-in offensive coordinator?

Then, there was the other thing. After three straight deep runs in the AFC’s postseason, teams needing head coaches couldn’t wait in limbo to first, see when he’d be available for an interview and, second, restart the coaching search if it was learned that he wasn’t the proper fit.

Waiting on an interview with Bieniemy means you’re waiting until the end of January or the beginning of February, and for a bad football team (which you probably are if you’re looking for a head coach right after the final regular-season game), that isn’t an ideal situation.

Let’s restate though. Eric Bieniemy shouldn’t have to apologize for being Andy Reid’s right-hand man on offense. He shouldn’t have to apologize for having Patrick Mahomes as a starting quarterback since 2018. It’s ridiculous to put an asterisk next to his name because the team he coaches for has seen sustained success.

If that’s a knock on a potential head coach and if Philadelphia wants to disqualify someone simply on the merit of being an Andy Reid understudy, maybe we should rethink the hiring process.