Doug Gottlieb: “Nathaniel Hackett gets the job in Denver and somehow it’s made into a racial thing because Eric Bieniemy did not get the job. I found it very clever and very interesting that there are so many admissions in so much of this stuff. Somehow Eric Bieniemy has become like what Colin Kaepernick was, and now what Cam Newton is, where any time a job comes open you’re like ‘WHY DON’T THEY SIGN CAM NEWTON!’ It’s because Cam Newton sucks, he’s not any good anymore, and it’s why he’s been a free agent three times in the last two years. He can’t throw a football, that’s it, it has nothing to do with him personally and nothing to do with anything else, he just can’t throw a football well enough anymore… I haven’t heard anyone mention – until now – Ryan Poles is the new GM of the Bears. He came from the Chiefs, and he named Matt Eberflus as his head coach. Your first job as GM you gotta get it right, you gotta hire a dude. He was in Kansas City, and usually, guys who are in Kansas City bring somebody with them. Eberflus is a unique guy because working in Indy, your GM in Indy used to be in Kansas City, there’s a relationship there. So when you get a job and you might have in mind who you want to hire for that job, you call people that you work with, call people that you respect, and you have your running list. Before you go ‘WHY DIDN’T THEY HIRE ERIC BIENIEMY!?’ who has no ties to the Denver Broncos outside of the fact that he played at Colorado, who did not offer him the job last year of as head coach. Don’t make something racial when it’s not. All anybody wants to do in sports is WIN, that’s it. Who gives me the best chance of winning? Sometimes they misevaluate. Do I think it worked against Bieniemy that they had Matt Nagy, who was in a similar position in Kansas City before he got the Bears job? Sure. But if you get your first job as general manager and you gotta make your first hire, and you don’t hire someone who you worked directly or indirectly with for the past five years or so, then I can’t really help you. Sports is a business and business is about relationships, and relationships are built upon trust. I don’t know what it is about working with Eric Bieniemy, I know what it is in terms of his interviewing. People like him, it’s just nobody knows exactly what he does, which is fine, you don’t have to call plays. You don’t have to call plays to be an NFL head coach. You just have to hire other guys that do, you have to be a uniter, and be very, very meticulous and organized. When people say Bieniemy is not a great interview, it’s not because he’s not a great guy, it’s because you know the second I hire him, here’s what he’s going to do. Hackett is incredibly well-regarded in the league, Aaron Rodgers swears by him and loves him, so best-case scenario they use it to leverage Aaron Rodgers to Denver. Worst-case, you got a guy who Aaron Rodgers said makes his life easier, and will make whatever quarterback’s life you choose easier. I don’t know if Pat Mahomes gets on the phone with people like Aaron Rodgers did to Atlanta last year trying to get Nathaniel Hackett the job. We have people in the media who’s first response to anything is ‘RACISM!’ I can tell you without a shadow of a doubt that all anyone wants to do is WIN.” (Full Audio Above)
Listen to Doug Gottlieb discuss the latest movements in the NFL coaching carousel, and why he thinks the media needs to stop pushing a narrative that is trying to denounce racism as the main reason why long-time Kansas City Chiefs assistant Eric Bieniemy continues to be passed over for head coaching openings year after year.
Check out the audio above as Gottlieb details his own theories on how Bieniemy might be the no. 1 candidate according to analysts on TV, but not exactly people connected with NFL circles, who are the ones doing the hiring.
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