Commanders players already struggling with Eric Bieniemy
Jul 27, 2023; Ashburn, VA, USA; Washington Commanders assistant head coach/offensive coordinator Eric Bieniemy waves to fans while walking to the fields prior to day two of Commanders training camp at OrthoVirginia Training Center. Mandatory Credit: Geoff Burke-USA TODAY Sports
The Washington Commanders made a big coaching splash during the offseason by bringing in Eric Bieniemy as their new offensive coordinator. Bieniemy was given total control of the offense, but some players may be struggling to come to grips with his standards.
Commanders coach Ron Rivera admitted to Nicki Jhabvala of the Washington Post that some players are struggling to adapt to Bieniemy, and that they voiced concerns to Rivera about being pushed too hard.
Asked Ron Rivera about Eric Bieniemy … pic.twitter.com/vdKy6qMjDu
— Nicki Jhabvala (@NickiJhabvala) August 8, 2023
“Yeah, they have,” Rivera said when asked if some players struggled to cope with Bieniemy’s intensity. “And one of the biggest things is — I had a number of guys come to me and I said, ‘Hey, just go talk to him.’ I said, ‘Understand what he’s trying to get across to you.’ I think as they go and they talk and they listen to him, it’s been enlightening for a lot of these guys.
“A lot of these young guys, they do struggle with certain things and a lot of it… is from where they’ve been. I mean, guys coming from certain programs are used to it. Guys coming from other programs aren’t as much. … They just were a little concerned.”
There are two ways to look at this. One is that Bieniemy is coming from a Super Bowl culture in Kansas City and is working to bring that culture to Washington, and some are struggling to keep up. The other is that, as some of his critics have alleged, Bieniemy is simply not suited for this level of control. Many of Bieniemy’s former Chiefs players would probably side with the first interpretation, though the critics would chalk up the success there more to Andy Reid than anyone else.
Only time will tell if these represent growing pains or if it is indicative of a larger problem. Rivera might not be well-served saying this publicly, though.