Commanders News: Eric Bieniemy, Sam Howell, Malik Willis and game day arrives

Commanders OC Eric Bieniemy defended

As is usually the case where the Washington Commanders are concerned, nothing is truly straightforward. Just when it looked like the seas were calm, head coach Ron Rivera's comments regarding players reportedly being unhappy with Eric Bieniemy's coaching methods caused national media attention for the wrong reasons once again.

Rivera admitted he'd made a mistake, although he also felt it had been blown out of proportion. Bieniemy rides his players hard, but the results are there for all to see and the Commanders' offense needs this sort of rocket up them considering how putrid they were under Scott Turner last time around.

Many have come to Bieniemy's defense in the wake of Rivera's revelations. These included Pro Football Hall of Fame coach Tony Dungy, who stated via Sports Illustrated that the play-caller's approach is well known around the league and the Commanders still made him their primary target this offseason - so there should be no problem whatsoever.

"Did the Commanders do ANY research on [Eric] Bieniemy before they hired him? Did they talk to ANY Chiefs or Vikings players or coaches? He didn’t just suddenly become an intense and demanding coach. That’s been his M.O. forever and it’s been successful. It shouldn’t be a surprise."

- Tony Dungy via Sports Illustrated

This situation is a mess and even though it'll probably blow over soon, it's something that could have been avoided. And Rivera is experienced enough to keep this sort of thing in-house rather than air the team's dirty laundry in public.