So here’s the deal –

A few weeks ago, before the Super Bowl, Jeff McLane asked Andy Reid if the Eagles formally requested to interview offensive coordinator Eric Bieniemy. Reid said no, and was quoted this way:

“There was nothing formally put in.”

It was a story at the time, because fans were wondering why the Eagles didn’t even bother to interview one of the guys who was considered to be among the hottest coaching candidates out there.

Turns out, apparently, that Big Red was bullshitting us, because the NFL says the Birds did indeed request that interview:

A couple of takeaways from that list.

Not only did the Eagles request Bieniemy, they also made more requests than any other team with an opening. Twelve guys in total. The names highlighted in red represent minority candidates, so Jeffrey Lurie and Howie Roseman requested to speak with five in total, four of whom were black (Duuuuuce included) and one with Lebanese roots (Robert Saleh). Nick Sirianni didn’t get a request for any team outside of the Birds.

Also, Bieniemy was an interview request for all seven teams, but didn’t get a job, so either the funkiness of playing in the Super Bowl affected the timeline, and his chances, or he just ended up not being a great candidate. Maybe he didn’t interview well. Maybe teams didn’t see it the way the media did. Maybe the legal issues of 25+ years ago ended up being a thing. Who knows?

Regardless, it appears as though Andy lied to us, or got his information wrong. That bastard. We supported him on this site and wrote nice things about him.