The Washington Commanders became the topic of conversation on Tuesday. Head coach Ron Rivera made a stunning reveal during media availability that stirred many people up. Rivera indicated that new offensive coordinator Eric Bieniemy has had an interesting time getting acclimated thus far.
Rivera suggested that Bieniemy’s coaching style is dogging the Commanders a bit. According to the longtime coach, players have complained, who told reporters the story at his media availability.
“I had a number of guys come to me, and I said, ‘Hey, just go talk to him,'” Rivera said via John Keim of ESPN.com. Rivera continued: “I said, ‘Understand what he’s trying to get across to you. As they go and they talk, and they listen to him, it’s been enlightening for a lot of these guys. I mean, it’s a whole different approach.”
Bieniemy later responded to the claims Rivera made. Keim wrote that the Commanders’ coordinator said, “I’m always going to be loud, always going to be vocal, always going to demand from my leaders.”
The former two-time Super Bowl champion coordinator added, “If I ain’t doing my job, my *** gets fired. It’s my job and my responsibility to make sure I’m getting our guys to do what I’m expecting them to do.”
It sounds like the players and the new Commanders coordinator are going through an adjustment period. But time will tell to see if these harsh workouts Bieniemy might be putting his team through have an adverse effect on them. Tough workouts and conditioning have been problems before for teams, most notably Chip Kelly’s Philadelphia Eagles in the early 2010s.
The NFL world reacted to the news on the Commanders.
Eric Bieniemy’s response from the presser earlier. One of his best soundbytes that I can remember. Video is from Washington Commanders live stream. https://t.co/hNolMjfUpH pic.twitter.com/W5j2jNIa1u
— Nick Jacobs (@Jacobs71) August 8, 2023
Eric Bieniemy really took a chance on the Washington Commanders, just to have players go and tell that he's too "intense." For a team that missed the playoffs last year is there really such a thing as too much intensity? Don't you want a coach to make you practice and play better
— Kelsey Nicole Nelson (KNN) (@therealknelson) August 8, 2023
https://twitter.com/KMBmoreX/status/1689026995202469890
I can’t believe I’m seeing people talk about EB coaching to hard. KC has been to more super bowls in the last 4 years than we have playoff wins. Those players are soft. Also don’t get why Ron felt the need to talk about that now. #HTTC
— #AdamPeters🐐 (@DMVCommanders) August 8, 2023
Man there is no other coach that has your back like EB !! Take that coaching and get better we all been through … it’s tough but I promise you it will make you better https://t.co/Nsvr3c6KFb
— Ty Hill (@cheetah) August 8, 2023
[ESPN]
About Chris Novak
Chris Novak has been talking and writing about sports ever since he can remember. Previously, Novak wrote for and managed sites in the SB Nation network for nearly a decade from 2013-2022