When Mike Vrabel was announced to be the next head coach of the New England Patriots after Jerod Mayo was fired, there were a lot of questions about who he would decide to make up his staff. When Mayo was filling out his personnel the year before, it wasn't a surprise that many had connections to Bill Belichick, but that didn't seem to be what Vrabel would do when it was his turn.
So far, most of his staff have never coached with or even played for Belichick and instead have connections to Vrabel from when he was with the Browns in 2024, the head coach of the Titans, or his few seasons with Ohio State.
Regardless, when deciding who would be the next offensive coordinator, assuming Alex Van Pelt was out, rumors surrounded the likely return of Josh McDaniels, who had been out of the NFL since he was fired from the Raiders in 2023. It was an interesting connection since they had no previous working experience together, but it made sense, given how highly regarded McDaniels is as a play-caller.
Even with that growing chatter, Vrabel chose to interview more candidates for the job, including Vikings assistant offensive coordinator/assistant quarterbacks coach Grant Udinski, Bears offensive coordinator/interim head coach Thomas Brown, and Chargers passing game coordinator Marcus Brady.
But apparently, they weren't the only ones. And fortunately, the new name added to the list won't be on the Patriots staff any time soon.
Patriots interviewing Eric Bieniemy proves hiring Josh McDaniels was the right choice
Despite never being reported on until after McDaniels had been hired, NFL insider Jordan Schultz revealed on Tuesday that the Patriots also interviewed former Chiefs offensive coordinator Eric Bieniemy for their vacancy during their search.
Given his connection to the most recently prolific Super Bowl Champions, it would seem like he would be a decent hire. But that's far from reality.
Veteran NFL OC Eric Bieniemy has spoken with multiple NFL teams and also interviewed for the #Patriots’ OC job before it went to Josh McDaniels, according to league sources.
— Jordan Schultz (@Schultz_Report) January 28, 2025
The belief was that Bieniemy was a top candidate for the New England job, had McDaniels not been the… pic.twitter.com/pHX1R3BNlH
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While he spent a lot of time on the Chiefs staff, holding different positions from 2013-2022, holding the OC position for the last five years, the most concerning part of his tenure was that he was never the offensive play-caller. Andy Reid, the Chiefs head coach, owned that role instead.
When Bieniemy left in 2023 to join Ron Rivera's staff in Washington as their play-caller, he was fired along with the rest of the staff by season's end. He is now looking to return to the NFL after a failed stint as the OC at UCLA, making it look increasingly like he is not well-equipped to be a play-caller in the NFL.
Considering how many OCs the Patriots have gone through since McDaniels left in 2022 and the importance of helping Drake Maye progress and develop as the next franchise quarterback, it was a good move by Vrabel to pass on Bieniemy and go with proven experience in McDaniels.
Bieniemy's recent history is sketchy at best and could have resulted in another change of OC next year, which is not an ideal situation for the Patriots' offense, especially since they'll already be on the second play-caller for Maye in his second season. They must avoid replicating the mistakes made during Mac Jones's tenure, so McDaniels being a sure thing looks like an even better move.