Andy Reid still trusts Eric Bieniemy but the Seattle Seahawks clearly do not

How much does Kansas City Chiefs coach Andy Reid still like his former offensive coordinator Eric Bieniemy? Apparently quite a bit. Before the Chiefs played the Baltimore Ravens in the AFC Championship game, Reid reportedly invited Bieniemy, who spent this season as the offensive coordinator of the Washington Commanders, to speak to the Chiefs in preparation for the game. But Bieniemy is now out of a job and the Seattle Seahawks need an OC but Seattle does not seem interested.

So what is it about Bieniemy that Reid still appreciates but Seattle seems to have no adoration for? There have been rumors that Bieniemy does not connect well with his players and might be a little too hard on them. If Seattle is thinking of keeping Geno Smith as QB1 moving forward, Smith probably knows himself well enough that any Bieniemy belittlement would not bother him.

But if the Seahawks are thinking of going with a younger quarterback (and this means taking one high in the 2024 NFL draft) then maybe Seattle does not want to take a chance on Bieniemy's coaching style demoralizing the young QB.

Seattle Seahawks have so far shown no interest in Eric Bieniemy as Offensive coordinator

Sure, Bieniemy became the Chiefs offensive coordinator in Patrick Mahomes' first year as the team's full-time starter, but Mahomes had spent a year working beside quarterback Alex Smith and Smith had a big hand in helping Mahomes be ready to be QB1.

There must also be something to Bieniemy getting no head coaching interest so far in the NFL. He has only been at most an OC and he was removed from his most recent job after one season with the Commanders. It is what we do not hear about Bieniemy that speaks louder than what we do. No one wants to hire him as their head coach (and now maybe no one as their OC) and there likely is a good reason why.

On the surface, the Seahawks at least interviewing Bieniemy to be their next OC would make sense. He has experience doing the job in the league. But if there is a real issue with Bieniemy getting a connection with his players then he should not be of interest. We should probably just trust the Seahawks more than we do Andy Reid when it comes to Seattle football.

Read more from 12th Man Rising