Category: Coaching Hires

Former Washington RB Brian Mitchell: ‘Coaches today are not as strong’

He wasn’t talking about any specific coaches, instead comparing the current era to his era.

Friday, former Washington running back Brian Mitchell had some strong words for some current NFL coaches.

Mitchell was asked a question about Washington’s scouting not finding some great players out there as Bobby Beathard did in the 1980s.

I attempted to follow Mitchell’s reasoning, but honestly, he lost me to some degree. When suddenly, Mitchell was stating he doesn’t believe coaches are as strong emotionally as the coaches were when he played in the NFL.

Here is the exchange.

“I am going to say this, and I don’t care if the coaches get mad or not. Coaches in my era didn’t take things personally.”

“The coaches back then were able to have an argument with a player, and it was over with, just like you have an argument with your brother. Coaches today seem to be afraid of someone who is not afraid of them. And I think when it comes down to scouting, sometimes social media helps us find things that is very beneficial. But everybody that once made a mistake is not always going to be that person.”

“I played with a lot of guys who had made some mistakes, but they were no longer that (same) guy. A lot of coaches were able to look past that, or they put you with someone whom they felt could guide you.”

“I think coaches today are not as strong as the men who were leading men back in the day. A lot of these dudes (coaches) play this little political game and they want to promote themselves and present themselves in a certain way, but they are not the leaders they claim they are.”

Mitchell has many times praised Joe Gibbs for being humble, yet internally a very strong man. On this day, Mitchell did not clarify by naming any coaches in particular by name.

The previous day, Mitchell had been rather direct in criticism of current Washington head coach Ron Rivera, saying sometimes Rivera talked too much. 

How should the Commanders/Rivera feel about Florida QB Anthony Richardson?

The Commanders need help in 2023, and Anthony Richardson may not provide that.

Florida Gators quarterback Anthony Richardson as expected, has tested extremely well, breaking some NFL Scouting Combine QB marks.

How should the Commanders feel about Richardson?

If you like SEC football and watched even just a few of the Florida Gators 2022 games, you most likely saw QB Anthony Richardson make some spectacular plays.

Consequently, for those who have seen many of Richardson’s games for Florida, it was absolutely not the slightest surprise to find Richardson at the scouting combine scoring the highest among quarterbacks in the 40, the vertical jump and broad jump. Richardson is simply one of the most explosive athletes to have ever played the position.

Head coach Ron Rivera made it clear this past week that for now, Sam Howell is the QB1, but he is not necessarily the starter. Understandably, Howell is Rivera’s top guy for now. If anyone comes his way that he feels can be the starter, then, of course, Rivera will look at that player as well.

Richardson has tremendous upside. His ceiling could be much higher than we imagine, seeing he already tested better in three ways than Cam Newton did.

The Cam Newton comparison might be significant and quite relevant, seeing Rivera drafted and went with Newton during his days of coaching the Carolina Panthers.

Yet, there is this. Rivera is entering the fourth year of a five-year contract. He has won 7,7 and 8 games his first three seasons. If Rivera doesn’t have a winner this upcoming 2023 season, the new owner may determine to go with his own chosen head coach at that time.

Richardson this week is shooting up draft boards, and once everyone calms down and looks again at actual game film of Richardson actually passing the ball in 2022, he most likely will level out and could be available at the No. 16 Washington selection.

However, look for Ron Rivera and the Commanders to pass on Richardson, understandably choosing to draft a player who can best contribute to the 2023 Commanders team.

Martin Mayhew looking forward to working with Eric Bieniemy

Martin Mayhew talks about his longstanding relationship with Eric Bieniemy.

Martin Mayhew is not attempting to be an isolated super hero when it comes to the upcoming NFL draft or free agency cycle.

Speaking with the media during the 2023 NFL Scouting Combine in Indianapolis, Mayhew realizes the need to draft players that can best fit into the system the Commanders coordinators Eric Bieniemy (offense) and Jack Del Rio (defense) are going to be installing.

“We’re still working through that process with Eric,” Mayhew said. “He’s only been there for a couple days…So we’re still evolving with that process with him and trying to figure out exactly what he’s going to be looking for at different positions. We have some thoughts, obviously, but we’re going to blend all that and we’ll get into free agency and get into the draft and start getting input from him and we’ll make some of those decisions down the road.”

Mayhew was not shy to point out he will not only give an ear to Bieniemy but the entire coaching staff.

“Our coaches do a great job evaluating players,” the GM said. “That’s one thing I think that [Head] Coach [Ron] Rivera’s done a really good job of putting the staff together of guys that know what they’re looking at. So we lean on those guys a lot. Eric will be very involved in the process.”

Mayhew and Bieniemy have actually known each other for decades, and Mayhew is counting on that to help in their working relationship as well.

“Eric and I go way back,” Mayhew said. “We’ve got probably a hundred thousand or so friends in common. He’s a fraternity brother of mine, Omega Psi Phi. So, when I interviewed him, I was just trying not to piss him off, you know, but we’re so glad to have him. It is a guy that’s been in three of the last four Super Bowls. Had the number-one offense in the league last year in terms of scoring. Just as an offensive coordinator has accomplished a lot, and our guys are really excited about it too. Our team is excited about it. The whole building is excited to have him join us.”

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Ron Rivera confident and positive about Commanders’ changes

Rivera spoke on a number of topics, but his comments regarding Sam Howell were the most interesting.

Washington Commanders head coach Ron Rivera had some positive things to say Tuesday, speaking with the press at the 2023 NFL Scouting Combine.

Having released Carson Wentz Monday, Rivera took the time to speak in terms of admiring Wentz the person, the man, despite the fact that Wentz disappointed Rivera with his quarterback play.

“He’s a heck of a young man,” Rivera said. “He’s a solid man. I want to wish him the best. I really do appreciate all he did for us. In the opportunity he had coming here, he did the best he could, and we really appreciate that as well.”

Rivera had wasted no time, making his decision late the previous night to apply the franchise tag to defensive tackle Daron Payne.

Rivera was quick to point out when asked, he is committed to wanting to keep Payne and get him signed, thus the Commanders were the first team to apply the tag in this 2023 offseason.

“The guy’s been very integral to the development of this football team and this defense, as well as the other guys he plays alongside,” the coach said. “We just wanted to make sure everybody understood that we are serious.”

Coach Rivera expressed the need to permit newly hired assistant head coach/offensive coordinator Eric Bieniemy to bring in some staff he desired. Thus, Stanford quarterbacks coach Tavita Pritchard has been hired as the new QB coach. Bieniemy and Pritchard, having known each other for a decade, Rivera spoke favorably of their relationship.

Regarding Sam Howell, Coach Ron made it clear he had informed Bieniemy of his plan to go with Howell as his QB1 and that Bieniemy was on board with Rivera’s plan.

Yes, factually, Rivera incorrectly alluded to Howell’s “junior year” when he was actually speaking of Howell’s sophomore year of being graded highly by many NFL scouts.

Praising Howell, Rivera expressed, “He’s got a tremendous skill set. He’s got the kind of arm you do look for.”

What Rivera then said raised some eyebrows and brought criticism from some.

“He’s not our starter,” Rivera said. “He’s coming in as the QB1. He’ll get a great opportunity to be our starter. But we do want to find a veteran quarterback. We have Taylor Heinicke, that’s a free agent. We’ve got to work through that as well. And we’ll see what happens from there.”

Rivera was saying it is Howell’s job to maintain and keep, and he’ll be given the top place on the depth chart to do this. He was being honest, that with only 19 passing attempts, you can’t yet say the team starter is already a done deal.

Specifically mentioning Heinicke could very well indicate Rivera might like to have Taylor return as the backup if both parties can agree to a contract.

Rivera also spoke of the team now having their “head above water” and he “feels very confident going forward.”

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Who was Commanders AHC/OC Eric Bieniemy as a running back?

In his final NFL season, Bieniemy scored the game-winning touchdown against — Washington.

We all know Eric Bieniemy is the assistant coach/offensive coordinator, but who was Eric Bieniemy the player?

You might be interested to learn that Bobby Beathard after leaving the Washington Redskins general manager position, was in San Diego as the GM when he drafted a Colorado Buffaloes running back in the second round (39th overall), Eric Bieniemy.

Bieniemy, in his four seasons in Boulder as a Buffalo running back, enjoyed really big seasons in his sophomore and senior seasons. His 1987 freshman season saw Bieniemy gain 508 yards and five touchdowns in 104 rushing attempts for 4.9 yards per carry. He also caught ten passes for 186 yards (18.6) and one touchdown.

Bieniemy’s sophomore season was a breakout year as he rushed for 1,243 yards (5.7 YPC) and ten touchdowns.  In his junior year, injuries limited Bieniemy to only eight games while still averaging 6.4 yards per carry (88-561).

His senior year was spectacular, rushing for 1,628 yards on 288 carries (5.7 YPC). He led the nation in yards from scrimmage (1,787). Bieniemy was a consensus All-American, and he finished third in the Heisman Trophy balloting (Ty Detmer, Raghib Ismail).

In the NFL, Bieniemy, after being drafted by the Chargers played for San Diego for four seasons (1991-94), the Bengals for four seasons (1995-98), finishing up with the Eagles in the 1999 season.

His highest NFL rushing total was only 381 yards (1995 with Cincinnati). Yet, Bieniemy did enjoy some good success catching the ball out of the backfield. In that same season, he collected 43 receptions for 424 yards 9.9 (yards per reception).

In the following three seasons, Bieniemy also caught 32, 31 and 27 receptions respectively. His career rushing numbers were 387 carries for 1,589 yards and 11 rushing touchdowns and 146 receptions for 1,223 yards.

So spending much time on special teams and catching the ball out of the backfield, Bieniemy was a competitive player who was good enough to last nine seasons in the NFL.

Incidentally, Bieniemy’s last NFL touchdown came against yes, the Washington Redskins in the 1999 game in Philadelphia. Washington led 28-27, but Bieniemy scored the go-ahead/winning touchdown with 3:38 remaining on his 11-yard touchdown run for a 35-28 Eagles victory.

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Eric Bieniemy welcomed to the Commanders

Eric Bieniemy speaks with Julie Donaldson after his introductory press conference.

Julie Donaldson welcomed Eric Bieniemy to the Washington Commanders.

Here are some of Bieniemy’s thoughts. Here is the entire interview.

“I’ve known Coach Rivera for a number of years. He’s a great man, a man of integrity. He’s an outstanding leader of men and I’m grateful to have this opportunity to work with him.”

“A lot of people don’t know this, Marty Hurney was on the staff as the Director of Player Personnel when I was drafted by the San Diego Chargers. So, our relationship goes back to 1991.”

“So, it feels good being in an environment with people that you know but also good people who are professional men that understand what it takes to build a winner.”

“What makes me the right guy is the leadership that I am going to bring, holding guys to the highest standard, getting them to understand the importance of being accountable…understanding what consistent and disciplined behavior is, and you have to be willing to work at it every single day.”

“If you get a cohesive unit that believes in each other and plays for each other those guys will go out and be great because the talent is here.”

“It’s been an amazing ride; I’ve been there (Kansas City) for ten years. Throughout those ten years, we’ve had a great deal of success. My last five years there, I was offensive coordinator, and we went to five AFC Championship games, three Super Bowls and won two.”

“Like I said in my press conference, Comfort can become the enemy of progress and sometimes you just want to do something new, and its about embracing the challenge. I’ve never run from a challenge.”

“First of all you see a guy (Sam Howell) who can make a number of throws. But you always want to create competition to bring out the very best in every player. You want to create a competitive environment so that no one is taking anything for granted.”

“When it is all said and done, we want our guys being at their best, when their best is needed.”

“We are going to play complimentary football. We want our guys to not fall into the idea that we have to do ‘this’. No, we have to do whatever it takes to win.”

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Former Washington player/defensive coordinator Greg Manusky has a new job

Greg Manusky spent a total of eight seasons in Washington, including three as defensive coordinator.

Greg Manusky was a popular player for the then-Washington Redskins from 1988-90. An undrafted linebacker from Colgate, Manusky appeared in 39 games, making 15 starts during his three seasons in Washington.

Manusky left Washington for Minnesota, where he spent three seasons before playing his final six seasons with the Kansas City Chiefs.

Shortly after his playing career ended, Manusky returned to Washington to begin his coaching career. He was the linebackers coach for Washington in 2001 under his former Kansas City coach Marty Schottenheimer. After a five-year stint as linebackers coach with the Chargers, Manusky spent the next nine seasons as a defensive coordinator with three teams.

Then, he once again returned to Washington.

After spending one season as outside linebackers coach in 2016, Manusky spent the next three seasons as defensive coordinator and frequently drew the ire of fans for his struggling defensive teams.

It was a hard fall for Manusky, who went to the college game for two seasons as a defensive quality control assistant for the Kentucky Wildcats. He returned to the NFL in 2022 as an inside linebackers coach for the Vikings under former Washington colleague Kevin O’Connell.

Now, Manusky has another new job in the NFL. He is the inside linebackers coach for new Denver Broncos head coach Sean Payton. Why Denver? New defensive coordinator Vance Joseph was the assistant defensive backs coach under Manuksy for four seasons in San Francisco, while Manusky was the defensive coordinator.

While Manusky’s defenses in Washington weren’t very good, he remains a respected coach around the NFL.

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Stanford QB coach Tavita Pritchard expected to land on Commanders’ staff

The former college quarterback would likely serve as Eric Bieniemy’s QB coach in Washington.

When it was revealed two assistants from Washington’s offensive staff would not return in 2023 under new offensive coordinator Eric Bieniemy, the names of replacements began to circulate.

Out are Jim Hostler and Drew Terrell. The two names who interviewed with Washington earlier this week were Chiefs running backs coach Greg Lewis and Stanford quarterbacks coach Tavita Pritchard.

According to Jeremy Fowler of ESPN, Pritchard is now working on an agreement that would likely bring him to Washington as the new QB coach. Fowler is who reported the initial news of Pritchard’s interview with the Commanders.

Pritchard, 36, is a native of Lakewood, Wash., and started for parts of three seasons until Andrew Luck replaced him in 2009. Pritchard quickly moved into coaching as a graduate assistant at his alma mater in 2010.

Pritchard’s entire coaching career was at Stanford, so for the first time since he was a high school senior in 2005, Pritchard will be in a different locale this fall.

Here is a look at the different positions Pritchard coached at Stanford:

  • 2011-12: defensive assistant
  • 2013: running backs
  • 2014-17: quarterbacks/wide receivers
  • 2018-22: offensive coordinator/quarterbacks
  • 2023: quarterbacks

When Stanford head coach David Shaw stepped down at the conclusion of the 2022 season, Troy Taylor took over as head coach. Taylor retained Pritchard as his QB coach but not as offensive coordinator.

If Pritchard lands in Washington as expected, he’ll work closely with Sam Howell, the Commanders’ projected starter under center in 2023.

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Rivera: Bieniemy brings ‘instant credibility’ to the Commanders

Bieniemy came into his Washington interview with a specific plan for all of Washington’s offensive players.

With the media Thursday, Commanders head coach Ron Rivera quickly pointed out the success new assistant head coach and offensive coordinator Eric Bieniemy will bring to the Commanders.

Rivera has known Bieniemy much longer than any of the players, pointing to Bieniemy’s success as a high school then college player, NFL player and growth and development as an NFL coach.

“You have the success he had it is instant credibility,” declared Rivera. “I think that is one of the more important things for our guys. They are looking at the guy that’s been there, done that, had the success. So, when he speaks I mostly know everybody’s gonna listen.”

“I was very excited about the fact that he (Bieniemy) wanted to come and interview. I thought that was a good start for us. One thing I really appreciated when he got in was some of the first things he talked about was our roster. Listening to what he saw potentially with Sam was a good thing.”

Rivera expressed that early in the dialog, Bieniemy conveyed plans for Terry McLaurin, Jahan Dotson, Curtis Samuel, the running game, having your tight ends involved. “Those were things that really told me that he’s really been paying attention these last few days in preparation for this opportunity to sit down and talk with me. He had an idea of where he wanted to go.”

Sounds like Coach Rivera is not only optimistic, but excited about having Eric Bieniemy now on the staff to take command of the offense.

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A relaxed Commanders HC Ron Rivera joked with the media

Ron Rivera was in a jovial mood Thursday.

Coaching in the NFL can be terribly stressful, even worse if you have had to deal with all of the off-field issues Ron Rivera has had put on his plate.

Thursday, while meeting with the press, the Commanders head coach, Rivera told of the process that went into hiring Kansas City offensive coordinator Eric Bieniemy, the reactions of his players whom he privately told, and the head coach even took a moment to joke with the sports media covering the big day introducing Bieniemy to the local media.

ESPN’s John Keim inquired, “What’s the next step? This was obviously a big problem solved to improve.” Rivera responded, “Well, the next big step is really we are going through all the positional coaches assignments, duties, jobs. How he (Bieniemy) wants to do some things with these guys (coaches), do some things a little bit differently. Which has been a really good conversation. In fact that was one of the things we were working on before this started.”

Then Rivera quickly transitioned to what his new assistant head coach would be doing. “We talked about what his assistant head coaching duties are going to be. He’s going to handle all the paper work. He’s going to handle all the arduous conversations he has with you guys about what is going on outside of football. I’ll just stick to football. Rivera paused, “This is a joke, relax!” Rivera burst out in laughter. Suddenly all the reporters around him could be heard laughing as well.

It has been a stressful three years for Rivera. He was diagnosed with cancer and had to undergo treatments during the 2020 season, often leaving him weak and needing to sit down, sometimes go get needed sleep to help him recover. There have been numerous distractions regarding ownership, including two NFL investigations into the workplace environment.

If that is not enough, Rivera has had to play eight quarterbacks in his three seasons, and his big trade for Carson Wentz he was so excited about last offseason, sadly backfired on him and will cost the Commanders their round-three choice (80 overall) to the Indianapolis Colts.

Good to see coach Ron is relaxed, not taking himself too seriously, joking around, and having some fun with the media.

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