National Football League

Eric Bieniemy's fiery coaching style a reality check for Commanders

Published Aug. 9, 2023 4:02 p.m. ET

The first time Eric Bieniemy addressed the Washington Commanders, he told them "We’ve got to learn to be comfortable when we’re uncomfortable" — and he promised to make them as uncomfortable as he could.

He told them bring the intensity the offense had clearly been lacking. He promised the kind of tough love and hard truths that he knew they would need. They knew then that he was a yeller and a screamer who demands perfection and will let players know when he doesn’t see it.

So it should be a little alarming to everyone in the organization that just two weeks into training camp some of the players on that offense were already complaining about getting the kind of shake-up they knew was coming — one that everyone knew they needed, too.

Never mind that Commanders coach Ron Rivera probably shouldn’t have revealed those complaints. He’s right that "I put my foot in my mouth" when he mentioned, unprompted, that "a number of guys" wanted him to calm Bieniemy down. All that did was toss his new offensive coordinator into a firestorm he didn’t deserve.

The larger point is that the intensity Bieniemy brings is a big part of why Rivera hired him in the first place to rejuvenate an offense that has been one of the NFL’s worst for the last five years. They were crying out for a new approach — literally, considering many of these players complained about Scott Turner, their old offensive coordinator. Whatever they’ve been doing wasn’t working. Rivera knew it was time for a big change.

Yes, the 53-year-old Biemiemy yells and curses and rips his players for their mental mistakes in practice. And he gives them harsh critiques that can come off as mean. He was the same way during his 10 years as an assistant in Kansas City, including his five years as the Chiefs offensive coordinator, according to some of his former players.

But just look at the Chiefs’ record those years. Look at the offensive numbers. It’s no wonder he thinks the method to his madness really works.

"He's been with an organization that's done some things differently and he is very staunch about the way that he does it," Rivera said on Tuesday. "And I appreciate it because we're out of our comfort zone. We're doing things a little bit differently. And it's been good for our guys, I think, as well. Because you're starting to have these ‘A-ha!’ moments and we go, ‘Ah, OK, I get it. I see what's going on. I see why this is happening.’"

Commanders players 'concerned' with Eric Bieniemy's coaching style

That seems to be the part Rivera meant to stress — that his players are slowly getting the point, even if they thought it was all pointless at the start. He understands what Bieniemy is trying to accomplish. And he encouraged his players to talk their new coach so they could get a better understanding of that too.

"I think as they go and they talk and they listen to him, it's been enlightening for a lot of these guys," Rivera said. "I mean, it's a whole different approach. Again, you’re getting a different kind of player from the players back in the past, so a lot of these young guys, they do struggle with certain things. Guys coming from certain programs are used to it. Guys coming from other programs aren't as much.

"Eric has an approach and it's the way he does things and he's not going to change because he believes in it."

Also, it works. Maybe Bieniemy doesn’t deserve all the credit for a Chiefs' offense that finished top 6 in the NFL in each of the past six years, and ranked No. 1 in three of his five years as the offensive coordinator. But it’s not like his screaming and yelling at practice dragged them down either.

Just ask former Chiefs running back Jamaal Charles, who reportedly complained to Andy Reid about Bieniemy shortly after he was hired. He wrote on Twitter on Tuesday "I know he (coaches) different. But I know one thing: He can take (you to) another level."

Added former Chiefs receiver Tyreek Hill: "Take that coaching and get better. We all been through (it). It’s tough, but I promise you: It will make you better."

Granted, being yelled at and scolded or even humiliated in practice and meetings isn’t for everyone. It even grated on some of the players in Kansas City over time, where there were sideline arguments caught on camera between Bieniemy and tight end Travis Kelce and even quarterback Patrick Mahomes.

Also, it’s a tale as old as time in the NFL: The old-school, Junction Boys act really only works when a team is winning. It grows tiresome and when they don’t. Just ask the Giants who revolted against Tom Coughlin’s reign of terror when he was hired in 2004, only to swear by his methods four years later when he led them to a Super Bowl championship. Or look at a more recent Giants example, when players hailed the screaming, cursing presence of Joe Judge as exactly what they needed in 2020. Two seasons and just 10 wins later, most of them couldn’t wait to kick him out the door.

A year from now, if the Commanders' offense still stinks, Bieniemy will probably be gone no matter what his coaching style is, along with Rivera and almost everyone else in the organization. But you’d think that after playing on the NFL’s 20th-best offense last season — which was actually the highest Washington has ranked since 2016, which was also the last time the team finished above .500 — the players could’ve given the new guy more than a few weeks before running to his boss.

Put in the unfortunate position of having to defend himself, Bieniemy said "We’re in a grown man’s business" and he acknowledged his intensity could be scary. "I would be afraid too, (at the) start, if I didn't know it," he said.

But they knew it. He told them. They embraced it.

They just couldn’t handle the truth when it started to hurt.

"Just like I stated when I first got here: We all got to get uncomfortable to get comfortable," Bieniemy said. "There's some new demands and expectations that I expect. I expect us to be the team that we're supposed to be. It's not going to be easy and everybody ain't going to like the process.

"But when it's all said and done with, my job is to make sure that we're doing it the right way. There's a way to do it. Do they understand that? Yes, because they're seeing the results. Will everybody buy in? I believe so. But if not, it's OK. Because you know what? My number one job is to help take these guys to another level. And I can see it."

Rivera said he can see it too, especially after he prodded the unnamed complainers to speak to Bieniemy directly. When they did, he said, Bieniemy was "very honest, very blunt" about what he wanted and why. And Rivera, who once played for Mike Ditka and Buddy Ryan in Chicago — "two of the toughest throwback-type guys you can have," he said — appreciates the honesty and the old-school style.

"Eric is a bit of a throwback," he said, "which I think is great."

Clearly not all of his current players agree. Maybe that is just a product of their era. But for players on a franchise that has been lost for decades, they really need to look at Bieniemy’s resume and his rings and at least give his throwback style a chance.

Maybe it will end in a spectacular disaster. But after decades of disastrous football in Washington, isn’t it worth giving Bieniemy’s disturbing-the-peace style a chance?

"I want to see guys become great," Bieniemy said. "I tell them all the time: I'm selfish. I like seeing players become great players. I like people who love to exceed their expectations. It's my job to make sure that I can get everything out of them together and collectively."

That’s the point that should echo around the Commanders’ complex, loud and clear.

Ralph Vacchiano is the NFC East reporter for FOX Sports, covering the Washington Commanders, Philadelphia Eagles and New York Giants. He spent the previous six years covering the Giants and Jets for SNY TV in New York, and before that, 16 years covering the Giants and the NFL for the New York Daily News. Follow him Twitter at @RalphVacchiano.

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