Commanders Await Eric Bieniemy's 'Stamp on Offense'

Washington Commanders offensive coordinator Eric Bieniemy will be intriguing to watch throughout the 2023 season.

Former offensive coordinator Eric Bieniemy was present as the Kansas City Chiefs received their Super Bowl LVII rings Thursday, but has moved on to the same role with the Washington Commanders, where he'll get a chance to step out of the shadow of head coach Andy Reid. 

This comes after multiple cycles where Bieniemy was unable to get a head coaching job. Despite Reid and quarterback Patrick Mahomes consistently showering Bieniemy with praise, his association with the two future Hall of Famers ultimately was among the factors that worked against him getting an opportunity to lead a team based off of his work in Kansas City. 

So now, Bieniemy -- who is also the assistant head coach for Ron Rivera -- will take over as the play caller for the Commanders. And around the league, there's quite a bit of anticipation about what Bieniemy could bring to the table for Washington. 

“He’s going to have a chance to put his own stamp on that offense," Brian Baldinger said, via The 33rd Team. “If he can turn them into a top-10 offense with Sam Howell or Jacoby Brissett or somebody else, it’s going to be hard to ignore him."

Bieniemy is taking over an offense with a solid amount of skill-position talent in wide receivers Terry McLaurin, Jahan Dotson and Curtis Samuel, running back Brian Robinson Jr. and tight end Logan Thomas. But the aforementioned Howell only played in one game in his rookie season. The former fifth-round pick is a complete unknown at quarterback, which is why he came in last in our SI/FanNation rankings of the 32 projected starters ahead of the 2023 season. 

Additionally, at 7-10, the Commanders were the only team in the NFC East not to make the playoffs a season ago. If Bieniemy thrives as the play caller in D.C., it certainly won't be because he handpicked the most perfect landing spot post-Kansas City. 

“I love people that bet on themselves and take the more challenging path," Former NFL executive Mike Tannenbaum said, via The 33rd Team. “In Kansas City, he had to fight the stigma of how much of it was coach Reid and how much of it was him. I can’t say enough about how much his decision to leave Kansas City speaks to his confidence and belief in himself. If Washington makes any kind of improvement, I think he’ll be in demand."

As we wrote earlier this month, Bieniemy took quite a risk in choosing Washington as his next destination. If Howell doesn't turn out to be the answer at quarterback, incoming owner Josh Harris may decide to overhaul football operations and pick his own regime. Bieniemy could end up as a casualty of that, meaning more than one season in his current role is hardly guaranteed. 

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