An odd tweet from the agency that represents Eric Bieniemy alluded to the Chiefs’ offensive coordinator no longer being a candidate for the Eagles’ head coaching job and included an unsubstantiated claim that the team has already chosen Patriots offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels as Doug Pederson’s replacement.
Goal Line Football, the agency that represents Bieniemy, tweeted Monday morning on Martin Luther King Day that the “NFL should be ashamed at this point with only 2 jobs remaining (one after Eagles hire JM) … zero black coach hires or even 2nd interviews.”
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Unless it’s Jalen Mills, John Madden or John Mayer, JM would presumably be McDaniels, who interviewed Sunday with the Eagles.
According to NBC Sports Philadelphia's John Clark, McDaniels did "very well" in his interview.
It is conceivable that the Eagles informed Bieniemy’s camp following McDaniels’ interview that they no longer wished to interview Bieniemy and either told Bieniemy or Goal Line that they were going to hire McDaniels, but that’s total speculation at this point based on one tweet.
The Eagles’ search committee, led by owner Jeff Lurie, GM Howie Roseman and team president Don Smolenski, was scheduled to interview Buccaneers defensive coordinator Todd Bowles virtually on Monday, and there was no reason to believe that had been cancelled. It’s hard to imagine they would have gone through with that interview if they had already decided to hire McDaniels.
NFL
ESPN reported last week that the Eagles had requested permission from the Chiefs to interview Bieniemy, but a source told NBC Sports Philadelphia’s Dave Zangaro that as of Monday afternoon no interview had been scheduled.
If an interview was still planned or anticipated, it’s hard to imagine Bieniemy’s agency would send that tweet out.
So it is possible the Eagles ruled out Bieniemy before he interviewed but haven't decided on a coach, and Goal Line was just speculating about McDaniels.
Even though the Chiefs are still alive in the playoffs, NFL teams this year have the option of interviewing candidates whose teams are still alive virtually before the bye week.
Goal Line’s frustration is understandable. Bieniemy has been a candidate for at least 12 head coach openings over the last three years without landing a job.
The Eagles are not confirming interviews during this coaching search cycle, so they had no comment on the tweet from Goal Line.
The Eagles have interviewed three Black candidates - Bowles, Jerod Mayo and Duce Staley. Their only Black head coach has been Ray Rhodes, who Lurie hired in 1995.
With Anthony Lynn getting fired, the only Black head coaches currently in the NFL are Mike Tomlin of the Steelers and the Dolphins’ Brian Flores.
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