‘Why Hasn’t Somebody Snatched Him Up?’ Jake Tapper Asks If Race at Issue in Chiefs’ OC Getting ‘Screwed’ by NFL Teams

CNN anchor Jake Tapper had sports broadcaster Bob Costas on to discuss why Kansas City Chiefs offensive coordinator Eric Bieniemy is not a head coach in the NFL.

Bieniemy has been the Chiefs’ offensive coordinator since 2018 and helped bring Kansas City two Super Bowls in a four-year window alongside star quarterback Patrick Mahomes. As every offseason since then came and went, he had missed out on a head coaching job.

With all 32 head coaching jobs reportedly filled on Tuesday afternoon, Bieniemy missed out on another opportunity to lead an organization in the NFL. Costas joined Tapper on The Lead With Jake Tapper Tuesday afternoon to discuss the lack of interest teams show Bieniemy.

“Would Eric Bieniemy be a head coach today if he were White? Tapper said.

“I think you would have to conclude that as likely,” Costas said. “But I want to stipulate by saying that not every individual situation necessarily personifies a larger truth, but having said that, Eric Bieniemy has interviewed 15 times with 14 different teams.”

Bieniemy interviewed with the New York Jets twice before they hired Robert Saleh as their head coach. Costas explained that since the Arizona Cardinals reportedly hired Philadelphia Eagles defensive coordinator Jonathan Gannon, the Chiefs’ offensive coordinator was passed over by all five teams who had head coaching vacancies.

“There are four Black head coaches in the National Football League and two Robert Saleh with the Jets and Ron Rivera in Washington who are minority coaches,” Costas said. “In 2018, the season began with seven, so instead of continued progress, it seems like there’s a lurch forward and then a fallback in this ongoing effort to reach some kind of fairness.”

“It doesn’t have to be exact equity. It doesn’t have to match up with the number of Black players within the league, but clearly, something is wrong here, systemically,” Costas said.

The longtime sports broadcaster told Tapper that since Chiefs head coach Andy Reid runs the offense and calls the plays, other teams around the NFL look at the Chiefs’ success and give credit to Reid.

Jacksonville Jaguars head coach Doug Pederson, who won a Super Bowl with the Eagles, was hired as a head coach when he was Reid’s offensive coordinator in the same situation as Bieniemy.

Tapper read from USA Today‘s Mike Freeman, who wrote an op-ed about teams passing on Bieniemy.

“Bieneimy continues to get passed over. Actually, ‘passed over’ is too nice a phrase to use. Eric Bieniemy will likely get screwed again,” Tapper said as he read Freeman’s op-ed.

“The reason I ask the question is because I look at his merit and I say, ‘Why hasn’t somebody snatched him up?'” Tapper said.

The two discussed a discrimination lawsuit the NFL faces from Black coaches who have accused NFL teams of racist hiring practices.

“The circumstantial evidence here points in a certain direction,” Costas said.

Watch above via CNN.