Chiefs' Andy Reid Defends Eric Bieniemy After LeSean McCoy Criticism

Kansas City Chiefs head coach Andy Reid stood up for offensive coordinator Eric Bieniemy on Friday in the wake of critical comments made by retired former Chiefs running back LeSean McCoy.

Appearing this week on the I Am Athlete podcast, McCoy gave his thoughts on Bieniemy and why he has yet to land an NFL head coaching job, saying:

"Listen, because some players he talks to them a certain way and some players would take it. I wouldn't take it, like 'Whoa.' ... That's the reason why that every year they hype him up to get a job, and then when the time comes, nobody hires him because they know what type of coach he really is."

Per ProFootballTalk's Michael David Smith, Reid suggested McCoy's frustration came from a place of struggling to acknowledge his own diminished skills rather than anything Bieniemy did:

"Sometimes it's hard on a veteran player. Maybe their performance level isn't what it used to be, and it's hard to take sometimes. But [Bieniemy is] going to push you to try to maximize what you've got. That's one of his strengths. ... He'll come in and shoot you straight. Sometimes you want to hear it. Sometimes you don't. ...

"I'm a big LeSean fan. In my eyes, he's a future Hall of Fame running back. If you look at it statistically, he's tremendous. But he wasn't the youngest pup in the kennel here. He was on the back side and sometimes that's hard to take."

McCoy, who retired in October at the age of 33, spent just one season with the Chiefs in 2019.

Shady appeared in 13 regular-season games for the Chiefs in 2019, rushing for 465 yards and four touchdowns, and maintaining a strong 4.6 yards-per-carry average. He also made 28 catches for 181 yards and a score.

Despite his solid play, McCoy dressed for only one game during the Chiefs' playoff run and didn't record a touch en route to Kansas City winning the Super Bowl.

McCoy found himself in a similar situation the following year with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, as he appeared in 10 regular-season games before dressing for only two playoff games and having no touches during the Bucs' road to winning the Super Bowl.

While McCoy won Super Bowl rings in his final two seasons, his great years from a production standpoint were with the Philadelphia Eagles and Buffalo Bills with whom he achieved six Pro Bowl nods and two first-team All-Pro selections.

McCoy clearly wasn't the same player in his later years, although he did seem to have something left in the tank in KC, which was why his phasing out from the offense was something of a head-scratcher.

Shady appears to blame Bieniemy for that, but Reid has nothing but respect for his longtime assistant, saying: "You see the love that the players have for him. He's got all these guys standing up for him and saying positive things. He's a heck of a football coach and I'm disappointed that he hasn't had a chance and optimistic that he's going to have one in the future."

Bieniemy joined the Chiefs as running backs coach in 2013 and was promoted to offensive coordinator in 2018. Since becoming OC, he has presided over one of the NFL's elite offenses.

Because of that, Bieniemy has received several head coaching interviews, but teams have ultimately passed on him for other candidates.

The true reason for that remains unclear, but if the Chiefs offense continues to produce at its recent rate with quarterback Patrick Mahomes at the controls, it is likely only a matter of time before Bieniemy gets his opportunity.