Eric Bieniemy will be up against it as the next Washington Commanders offensive coordinator.
Should Eric Bieniemy succeed as the Washington Commanders offensive coordinator, there is no NFL coaching job he cannot hold.
The long-time Kansas City Chiefs assistant coach left Andy Reid after a decade on his staff to get a bigger opportunity in a lateral move of sorts. Bieniemy may have gotten interviews as the former Chiefs coordinator, but never a team of his own. This is because he had a miserable time of getting out from behind Reid’s massive offensive-minded shadow. Reid was calling all their plays.
So when he partnered up with another former Reid assistant in Ron Rivera, it seemed as though Bieniemy would finally get his time to shine. Unfortunately, Rivera and the Washington brass remain dead-set on seeing if second-year pro Sam Howell can be a guy. With the palate of a five-year-old, this chicken finger enthusiast will be the one deciding Bieniemy’s head-coaching fate.
Rivera told Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk that the Commanders’ plan for 2023 was to enter the offseason with Howell as QB1 and not pursue a veteran starter. A veteran backup may be coming aboard, but Bieniemy will have to make chicken fingers out of chicken mess with Drake Maye’s North Carolinian predecessor. Howell was good, but like a medium-rare steak, Maye was better.
Either Bieniemy has the secret A1 sauce to get the most out of Howell or he will be a nervous bird.
Although it was very competitive, Washington finished in fourth place in the NFC East last season.
Eric Bieniemy is expected to make chicken tenders out of chicken mess in D.C.
In a very weird way, this is exactly what Bieniemy signed up for. Should the Commanders command our attention this fall, he will be well on his way to finally being named an NFL head coach. Bieniemy downgraded massively from the Chiefs, Reid and Patrick Mahomes to the Commanders, Rivera and Howell. The man is doing the lord’s work so you won’t ever have to…
Look. Washington wasn’t bad enough to be in a great position to draft a first-round quarterback not named Anthony Richardson. We are looking at three quarterbacks coming off the board in the top 10 in Bryce Young, C.J. Stroud and Will Levis. Washington could trade up for one or wait and see what the 2024 NFL Draft has in store. What if I told you they can get Howell’s UNC successor?
Should new potential ownership tell Rivera, Bieniemy and everybody else to take a hike, the Commanders or whatever they’re called can be in position to take a member of UNC’s first family or a guy who paints his fingernails to lose twice to Utah in the same year. Either way, Washington needs a facelift badly. For now, Bieniemy is the man in the box, the one to come and save them.
Simply put, if credit is what Bieniemy wants, he can get it in Washington, but it won’t come easy. Nothing ever is there. Nope. It may be a blur during his layover in Dulles, but it may be necessary to get Bieniemy to where he wants to go. After getting his head checked by a jumbo jet, Bieniemy is cleared for takeoff in Washington. If he can keep Howell from going afowl, then he is ready for it.
Absolutely and unequivocally fearless, you can never say Bieniemy was a chicken for staying in KC.
