ASHBURN, Va. (AP) 鈥� Eric Bieniemy’s voice is one of the clearer ones on the practice field. On his first day of training camp since , it wasn’t hard to understand his message.
鈥淟et’s go!鈥� Bieniemy shouted. 鈥淚t’s work time.鈥�
Bieniemy is now at work as Washington’s offensive coordinator, bringing and to an organization that hasn’t won a playoff game in nearly two decades. It’s his chance to get out from under the shadows cast by and Andy Reid and prove he should be a head coach in the NFL, working under Ron Rivera and with .
鈥淗e’s going to do a heck of a job there and really show his personality within the offense,鈥� Reid said. 鈥淚’m so happy for E.B. to have his chance to put his name on an offense. This is his now. He’s working for Ron Rivera, who is a dear friend 鈥� more of a defensive head coach than offensive head coach. This allows E.B. to do his thing.鈥�
Bieniemy’s thing has been winning thanks to one of the best offenses in the league. The Chiefs ranked first on that side of the ball three times in his five years running the unit and were never worse than sixth 鈥� with Super Bowl titles following the 2019 and 2022 seasons.
Despite all that, the former running back interviewed with more than a dozen teams but never was hired as a head coach, in part because Reid called the plays for Kansas City and is considered an offensive guru.
Bieniemy is following a path similar to Rivera, a retired linebacker who had to work for an offensive coach before getting a head job.
If he can turn Howell, with one game of pro experience, into a reliable NFL starter, that may be enough to land one.
But, first, Bieniemy has to get players to buy in to his brand of coaching that has apparently flustered some of them in camp. Rivera earlier this week let it slip that some players expressed concern over Bieniemy’s intense style 鈥� remarks the fourth-year Washington coach and attempted to clarify a day later.
鈥淓ric has an approach, and it鈥檚 the way he does things and he鈥檚 not going to change because he believes in it,鈥� Rivera said, contrasting that with himself and defensive coordinator Jack Del Rio. “Having been a head coach, I think Jack has a tendency to try and figure guys out a little bit more as opposed to, ‘Hey, this is it, this is the way it鈥檚 going to be鈥� 鈥� that type of stuff. Where Eric hasn鈥檛 had that experience yet.鈥�
Bieniemy, 53, doesn’t shy away from his intensity, and his yelling at practice almost always is encouraging and constructive. He’s trying to fix mistakes and form good habits before the football counts for real.
鈥淲e all got to get uncomfortable to get comfortable,鈥� Bieniemy said. “There鈥檚 some new demands and expectations that I expect. I expect us to be the team that we鈥檙e supposed to be. It鈥檚 not going to be easy, and everybody isn’t going to like the process. But when it鈥檚 all said and done with, my job is to make sure that we鈥檙e doing it the right way.鈥�
Even if some players wondered about how Bieniemy was going about that process, many have embraced it.
鈥淓.B. does a great job of just coaching the details,鈥� second-year running back Brian Robinson Jr. said. 鈥淗e also does a great job of just making sure guys don鈥檛 go without knowing their assignments. That鈥檚 been great for us to just help us learn.鈥�
There’s a lot of learning to do. Bieniemy brought an entirely different system to Washington, one with new verbiage and more of the run-pass options that have become a feature of modern offenses.
From Howell and veteran backup Jacoby Brisett to and a remade offensive line, it’s a lot to pick up and memorize on the fly.
Bieniemy gets fired up talking about young players figuring it out along the way, and he’s doing his best to help them.
鈥淚鈥檓 only asking them each and every day just work on three things: Find three things to work on,鈥� Bieniemy said. 鈥淚 know practice is not going to be perfect, but if there鈥檚 three things that you can address, define what those three things are, then if you are making that necessary adjustment and working on those things, we got a chance.鈥�
Players need to look no further than the Chiefs for evidence of Bieniemy’s work. Or just listen to Mahomes, whose career as a starter in the pros has coincided with Bieniemy running the offense.
鈥淚鈥檓 excited for Washington because I know how inspiring that he can be and how smart he was for us,鈥� . 鈥淚 have so much respect for E.B. He鈥檚 such a great coach, a great person.鈥�
When Rivera’s comments about Bieniemy and players’ reactions caused an uproar around the league, former Chiefs receiver Tyreek Hill was among those who came to his former coach’s defense. that no one has a player’s back more than Bieniemy and advised the Commanders that the tough coaching will make them better.
If it works, the conversation will turn to Bieniemy getting the promotion many in the game have thought he should have had for years now.
鈥淚 loved playing for E.B 鈥� the fire, the passion he brings for the game, the consistency he brings,” Chiefs guard Trey Smith on the AP Pro Football Podcast. 鈥滺e definitely has deserved and earned the right to be a head coach in this league.”
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AP Pro Football Writer Rob Maaddi and AP Sports Writer David Skretta contributed.
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