Bieniemy making some waves in Washington

[wazu]

we haven't even had 1 preseason game yet...

and players are complaining to the HC about the OC behind his back...

and then the HC is airing that laundry publicly in the media without wholesale defending his handpicked OC

yikes https://t.co/1SsJiINoVj

— Warren Sharp (@SharpFootball) August 8, 2023

[scho63]

I think that Bieniemy is considered too much a "yelling guy" and not even tempered enough to be a head coach.

Also he may present a poor plan when interviewing.

If he was really good, he would have likely had a chance already. Maybe he doesn't design or call any offensive plays. Then what is his value? "Bad Cop"?

Herm Edwards and Romeo Crennel got HC jobs so EB must just not have it.

[Red Dawg]

If Mahomes wants him back then bring him back.

[Chiefnj2]

I hope he ends up back in KC. The offense is better with him around.

[BWillie]

EB probably would have helped keep these shitball WRs focused

[FloridaMan88]

If EB returns… the subplot thickens in terms of who might eventually succeed Andy as HC… Nagy or EB.

In related news… Andy, please never retire.

[Mecca]

Originally Posted by KCChiefsFan88

If EB returns… the subplot thickens in terms of who might eventually succeed Andy as HC… Nagy or EB.

In related news… Andy, please never retire.

I'm not sure any of the guys on the current staff are the HC after Andy, I also think Andy is here at least 5 more years.

[KCJake]

Never been a big fan of EB, but I'm actually starting to feel a little sorry for him.

[RunKC]

Pretty scathing article on Bieniemy. Turns out the players didn't like him and thought he was a moron for being a hardass, not running the ball more, not getting their best playmakers involved and leaving Sam Howell out to dry.

In one of his first major decisions as the Washington Commanders’ new head coach, Dan Quinn fired offensive coordinator Eric Bieniemy on Monday, with a year remaining on his contract. The move seemed likely at season’s end and inevitable when the Commanders named Kliff Kingsbury their new offensive coordinator. But it was a significant turn for Bieniemy, who arrived a year ago to great fanfare.

The Commanders job, which had its share of difficulties with an unproven starting quarterback, gave Bieniemy play-calling duties and the added title of assistant head coach. But he inherited a roster that was built for the offense of the previous coordinator, Scott Turner, and included minimal investment in the offensive line. Even so, it appeared to be another step toward trying to prove he deserved to run a team after he’d spent five seasons as the Kansas City Chiefs’ coordinator and interviewed for 16 head-coaching vacancies with 15 teams.
But in Bieniemy’s lone season in Washington, the Commanders’ offense was inconsistent and unbalanced, and quarterback Sam Howell regressed as the season went on. Bieniemy was hardly the team’s only or biggest problem; its 4-13 finish was the result of myriad issues on the field and in the front office.

Before Bieniemy arrived in Washington, his high-profile pursuit of a head coaching job had already raised questions about why so many teams had passed him over, and his quick exit from the Commanders raised more. He interviewed for the Commanders’ head-coaching vacancy last month but was not believed to be among the finalists for the job.
So what went wrong? Why was Washington so quick to move on?
Ultimately, Quinn, like many coaches, wanted his own guy, and knew he wanted to bring Kingsbury with him when he got another shot as a head coach. And Washington’s on-field results last season factored into the decision. The team tied for 23rd in offensive scoring, 24th in third-down efficiency and finished 30th in rush rate (38.2 percent) when the clock or scoreboard didn’t dictate run or pass.

In the locker room, signs of frustration were evident throughout the season. After Washington’s last game, a blowout loss to the Dallas Cowboys, tight end Logan Thomas was as direct as any player had been about the simmering tensions between Bieniemy and his players.
“I might be the only one to say it, but I think we had our ups and downs [with Bieniemy],” Thomas said. “We had some good, we had some bad. It’s one of those things where something new comes in after you’ve been used to something else for a couple years, and sometimes you can bang heads. But I respect him for coming to work every day and being the same person every day.”

Other players, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss internal team dynamics, described Bieniemy as a hard-working coach who hamstrung his own efforts with poor communication, stubborn play-calling and a disregard for player feedback.

Bieniemy did not respond to a request for comment.

One of the first public conflicts Bieniemy had with a player was in early August. During a training camp practice, cornerback Benjamin St-Juste hit tight end Cole Turner hard and stood over him, glaring. Wide receiver and team captain Terry McLaurin believed the play had been unsportsmanlike and got in St-Juste’s face.
From the sideline, Bieniemy screamed at McLaurin and others to “stop with the dumb s--- and do your f---ing job.”
McLaurin yelled back: “Can’t do that s--- to your teammate, bro!”

The next week, former coach Ron Rivera said some players had gone to him because they were “a little concerned” about Bieniemy’s coaching style. Rivera attempted to clarify his comments the following day, and multiple players went on the record to acknowledge the value of Bieniemy’s hard-nosed approach.

As the season progressed, friction remained. Multiple people said there was often confusion on game days because offensive adjustments were not clearly communicated to players, and assistants didn’t seem to be on the same page. Behind the scenes, some players urged their position coaches to beg Bieniemy to run the ball more. The pass-heavy attack placed an extra burden on the offensive line and the quarterback — and when Washington’s offense did run, it averaged the seventh-most yards per carry in the NFL, 4.43 yards.
“I don't think they gave [Howell] a fair chance,” a player said. “I felt like we became a one-dimensional team.”

Another player blamed Rivera for not forcing Bieniemy to run the ball more or fixing the disconnect between the offensive and defensive staffs.

“We didn’t play complementary football all year long, and that came back to haunt us,” the player said.

Some players felt Bieniemy’s intense practices, though helpful in training camp, left them exhausted before games, and they believed the practices created a greater risk of injury. Bieniemy’s title of assistant head coach gave him greater authority than most coordinators, allowing him to script practices and alter players’ schedules during the week. One player felt Rivera delegated too much and failed to step in or make changes quickly when warranted.

“It was EB’s f---ing team,” another said.

Rivera, who declined to comment for this story, did meet with Bieniemy midway through the season to discuss his approach and suggest the offense run the ball more, a person with knowledge of the meeting said.

The Commanders opened the season with two wins, and many players said they welcomed Bieniemy’s changes, especially early on.
“The idea that people were rejecting any sort of change at all is just stupid,” one player said. “ … We needed to have some change.”
But Washington lost its next three games, a stretch that culminated in a 40-20 loss to the previously winless Chicago Bears at FedEx Field. Facing a massive early deficit, Bieniemy called 53 consecutive passes in that game. Howell was hit 11 times and took five sacks. Several players saw that moment as a turning point.

Two weeks later, the New York Giants used blitzes and man-to-man coverage to beat up Howell, who took six more sacks and 12 hits. McLaurin, who almost never critiques coaching decisions or play calls, said he thought the Commanders could’ve countered better.

“When teams are blitzing like that, it leaves one-on-one opportunities, and I felt like we got to that late,” he said. “Hopefully going forward we just get to it a little earlier and give us chances to make plays down the field.”

Even though their offense was explosive at times early in the year, the Commanders had a perplexing inability to consistently involve their playmakers. In a December loss to the Miami Dolphins, McLaurin didn’t have a single catch for just the second time in his career.

“I ran a lot of cardio,” he said afterward.

Bieniemy, who is Black, was unable to land an NFL head coaching job during his Chiefs tenure, despite the fact that he’d helped develop the game’s best young quarterback and won two Super Bowls as a coordinator. He became the face of the league’s minority hiring issues, and many observers regarded his move to the Commanders as an attempt to escape from Coach Andy Reid’s shadow and improve his chances as a head coaching candidate.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/sport...what-happened/

[MarkDavis'Haircut]

Some guys just aren't meant to be the head person. He sounds like a guy who is best as the sergeant.

[wazu]

Originally Posted by MarkDavis'Haircut

Some guys just aren't meant to be the head person. He sounds like a guy who is best as the sergeant.

I don't think we'll ever know. I wish he would get a shot. He's kind of a character, and it would probably be a pretty good show. I could see it working and I could see it not. After all most head coaching hires end up being mistakes. The few exceptions tend to end up in the Hall of Fame. But EB as the head coach would sure as hell be a fun ride.

[Frazod]

Originally Posted by MarkDavis'Haircut

Some guys just aren't meant to be the head person. He sounds like a guy who is best as the sergeant.

I was thinking the same thing. Look at Spags. He flopped as a head coach, but is nails as a DC.

Know your limitations.

[ghak99]

...... Bieniemy called 53 consecutive passes in that game ........

Got dam Batman.


Was he trying to make his arm fall off?

[MVChiefFan]

I think we all got jaded throughout the season. With the offense sputtering the missing piece was EB. I just don’t think we truly want this guy back. I remember when Gunther lost the team do to his incessant ranting and raving and hardass approach. We don’t need the guy, and I especially want him no where near our head coaching job when Andy retires.

[Easy 6]

Originally Posted by ghak99

Got dam Batman.


Was he trying to make his arm fall off?

Yeah wow how idiotic, guess we can all stop wondering why he will never be a head coach

[nychief]

Originally Posted by RunKC

Pretty scathing article on Bieniemy. Turns out the players didn't like him and thought he was a moron for being a hardass, not running the ball more, not getting their best playmakers involved and leaving Sam Howell out to dry.



https://www.washingtonpost.com/sport...what-happened/

Um. Not for nothing but these ****ing losers complaining because EB was doing things different than they had been done before is....the whole point... the redskins were dog shit, they brought in a guy to change that then pushed back when he did something different. So soft.