The NFL has failed Black coaches, and Eric Bieniemy is the face of the problem. But should he be?
Here is Bieniemy, coordinating the Chiefs’ explosive offense for Kansas City’s two Super Bowl runs, admired by players, objectively qualified to be a head coach. Nobody has hired him. He is Black. This is all true. But it is only part of the story.
This issue is complicated. Not complicated in the condescending sense, as a cover for poor behavior (This looks bad, but it’s complicated). It looks bad because it is bad. It’s complicated in the sense that this is a serious problem with many facets, but we can’t see them all by focusing solely on Bieniemy.