When the Washington Commanders lured in Eric Bieniemy to take over the offense, they were getting more than just the owner of two Super Bowl rings from the Kansas City Chiefs — they were getting an increase in tempo and intensity.
Regarding the latter, head coach Ron Rivera’s words to Nicki Jhabvala of the Washington Post on Tuesday paints a picture of the team struggling to fully adjust to “EB.”
‘Concerned’ Was 1 Word Used in Describing the Offense Adjusting to Eric Bieniemy
Rivera was asked if his players have had difficulty in adjusting to Bieniemy’s intense coaching style.
“Yeah, they have,” Rivera began. “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. I mean, it’s a whole different approach.”
Asked Ron Rivera about Eric Bieniemy … pic.twitter.com/vdKy6qMjDu
— Nicki Jhabvala (@NickiJhabvala) August 8, 2023
Rivera added how this generation of players will come with a different attitude because of what they were accustomed to in college.
“So 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,” Rivera said, adding how coaches like him and Bieniemy “have to assimilate and get a feel for everybody.”
Still, Rivera was asked if maybe Bieniemy was riding them a little too hard during practices.
“Well, um, they were just a little concerned,” Rivera said.
This, unfortunately, points to early friction between the Commanders’ offense and the new offensive coordinator. And this is an offense aiming to improve from their 20th ranking in total yards last season.
Bieniemy Admitted Intense Coaching Style Before Training Camp
The Commanders players, though, likely got an early heads up of what to expect from Bieniemy outside of the X’s and O’s.
Rivera warned players that Bieniemy could be heard loud and clear throughout the field during June minicamps. Even with the blast of music from the speakers, Bieniemy’s voice was the one with the higher decibel levels.
But as Bieniemy shared June 2 with the Associated Press, he expects to use his voice.
“I’m pretty loud at every practice, but it’s fun,” Bieniemy said to the AP’s Bobby Bancroft. “The thing that I want them to understand while we’re out there is maximizing every single opportunity that we have, so yes, you have to create energy. We have to bring that energy so our players can feed off of that so they can be excited about the opportunities that lie ahead.”
Looks like Bieniemy is aiming to continue to fuel the energy he hopes to see. But unfortunately, it’s come with early concerns that he’s too intense. Rivera, however, knew what kind of coach he was getting when he hired the multiple Super Bowl winner that coached Patrick Mahomes, Travis Kelce, and Tyreek Hill to titles.
“He’s loud,” Rivera said with a smile to reporters Tuesday. “The beauty of Eric is the perspective he has. He’s been with an organization that does some things differently. He’s very staunch about the way that he does things. That’s something that’s been different. I appreciate it because we’re out of our comfort zone. We’re doing things a little bit differently. I’ve been doing things, for the most part, the same way for 12 years.
“This is something that’s been different,” Rivera continued. “It’s been good for our guys, I think, as well, because you’re starting to have these, ‘Ah ha’ moments…That’s been something that I think has been really good for us as an organization and as a team as far as I’m concerned.”
