Eric Bieniemy is ready to be an NFL head coach and the Jacksonville Jaguars represent the perfect landing spot for him this offseason.
This should finally be the NFL offseason where Eric Bieniemy gets his opportunity to become a head coach. Finding the perfect fit should be a huge priority for the Chiefs’ offensive guru. If he evaluates everything correctly, he’ll find that taking over the Jaguars represents a golden opportunity for him to build a Super Bowl contender in relatively short order.
Of course, Doug Marrone is still technically in charge in Jacksonville. His departure from the franchise is inevitable due to the team’s 1-10 start. That doesn’t make Marrone a bad coach, but his time with the Jaguars has run its course.
Expect team owner Shahid Khan to look for a more offensive-minded coach this time around. That should make Bieniemy a prime candidate for the position. The 51-year-old offensive coordinator should focus his offseason efforts on getting the Jaguars job for a myriad of reasons.
Quarterback is the big key
Current openings in Houston and Atlanta give a potential new coach a chance to work with an established star at the quarterback position. That comes with immediate pressure to win. The Jaguars aren’t committed to Gardner Minshew and will almost certainly use their top draft pick on a new franchise signal-caller. That will give a coach like Bieniemy time to learn and grow with the young quarterback of his choosing.
Unfortunately for the Jaguars, the Jets seem destined to beat them to the No. 1 overall pick. That means Trevor Lawrence is headed to the Big Apple. Jacksonville will get their pick of other prospects available in the class though. Justin Fields is the consensus No. 2 pick on most experts’ boards. He’s just the sort of versatile, strong-armed quarterback that is tailor-made to trigger Bieniemy’s offensive system.
There is real talent elsewhere on offense
The Jaguars offensive hasn’t lit up the scoreboard this season, but much of its struggles can be directly attributed to poor quarterback play. There’s plenty of talent elsewhere on the offensive side of the ball for Bieniemy to be excited about.
D.J. Chark gives Jacksonville a potential No. 1 wide receiver who can make big plays on the outside. He leads the team this season with 41 catches for 534 yards in nine games, but it’s easy to see that production increasing with better offensive line play and the implementation of a more innovative system.
Laviska Shenault could also grow into one of the better No 2 wideouts in the NFL if things break right. Bieniemy should be very intrigued at the idea of taking over a team that’s already relatively well-stocked with high-end talent at receiver.
The emergence of undrafted rookie James Robinson as a possible Pro Bowler at running back shouldn’t be ignored. It isn’t the most important position in the league, but he’s racking up 4.6 yards per carry for an offense that’s pretty vanilla in terms of its playcalling. His presence in the backfield can give Bienemy’s system the balance it needs to be successful.
Lastly, the offensive line also has more talent than many other groups around the league. Cam Robinson and Jawaan Taylor are young tackles who have the potential to grow into quality starters or more. Brandon Linder is already at that level at the center position. Add it all up, and a good quarterback could make Jacksonville’s offense much better in very short order.
The downside is the defense
It wasn’t so long ago that Jacksonville sported one of the most talented defensive rosters in the game. Those days are gone. The cupboard isn’t bare on that side of the ball, but any coach that takes over is going to need to be patient with the defensive rebuild.
The silver lining to the dark cloud of the Jacksonville defense is that it already has some talented building blocks to work with upfront. Josh Allen is already a borderline star as an edge rusher. There’s still plenty of time for K’Lavon Chaisson to find his footing. Throw in Taven Bryan and Davon Hamilton on the inside and it’s easy to see this group developing into an upper-echelon defensive line over the next few years.
Roster overhaul is necessary elsewhere, but the quality of talent on the defensive front prevents this reconstruction project from overwhelming an offensive-minded coach like Bieniemy.
So will Bieniemy end up in Jacksonville?
It’s too early in the NFL season to answer this question with any measure of certainty. The Jaguars will fire Marrone barring some sort of miracle finish to their season. Bieniemy is going to be one of the top candidates for any franchise that wants to replicate some of the magic the Chiefs possess on offense.
The question the Jaguars must answer is whether or not they’re willing to wait for Bieniemy. That might be a risky strategy if Kansas City, as expected, makes a deep postseason run. Several quality candidates may go off the board before Bieniemy is able to interview.
Jacksonville would be wise not to rush their process though. There aren’t going to be all that many openings this offseason. Currently, only Houston, Atlanta, and Detroit are without a permanent head coach. The possibility that Raheem Morris and/or Romeo Crennel might find ways to convert their interim tags to permanent positions could construct the market even further. A few other jobs will open up before the regular-season concludes, but the volume of open positions won’t be enough to overwhelm the Jaguars.
Jacksonville needs to operate like a franchise that is aware they have one of the best jobs available this offseason. If they do, landing Bieniemy should be achievable. The marriage between the Jaguars and Bieniemy could quickly turn this team into an AFC power.