Ron Rivera threw Eric Bieniemy under the bus Tuesday. Or did he?
Most of the responses to what Rivera expressed Tuesday before the media have been quite negative.
Nicki Jhabvala of The Washington Post inquired, “Have players had to adapt to Eric Bieniemy’s intensity and have any struggled with it at times?”
What Rivera revealed was that, of course, some have. It’s not surprising. Longtime insider Rick Snider even commented last week that Bieniemy was dropping F-bombs repeatedly where fans and children were hearing it.
Rivera revealed, “I have had a number of guys come to me…” That was surprising. Perhaps he didn’t have to reveal it, but I found the honesty to have integrity. I mean, if you don’t think Bieniemy’s style is going to rub several players the wrong way, aren’t you being naive?
Where Coach Ron did not err, in my view, was that Coach Ron didn’t baby his players. Neither did Coach Ron emasculate nor backstab Bieniemy.
No, Rivera told the players if they have a problem with Bieniemy, they need to first talk to Bienemy about it. Now, some of you apparently don’t get it, but that is good leadership.
Rivera created an avenue where “a number of players” concerned about Bieniemy’s approach and coaching style could talk it out with Bieniemy. In my opinion, that was actually good news. The players needed to muster the courage to confront the right person, and Bieniemy needed to hear it.
Bieniemy is not perfect in his coaching communication; he is not going to handle each situation properly. So why should he think he is exempt from poor communication at times? Why should he be exempt from confrontation?
In my view, too much is being made of this revelation by Coach Rivera’s comments Tuesday. It is not merely the volcano so many are making it out to be.
Andy Reid talked up Eric Bieniemy quite a bit, hoping EB would find a new job. Reid clearly wanted Matt Nagy in the role of Chiefs offensive coordinator. Isn’t it a real probability that Bieniemy had worn out his welcome and some were tired of his constant volume?
Isn’t it also part of the reality that the Commanders offense has under-performed in Rivera’s three seasons in Washington? Isn’t it very likely that Bieniemy’s intensity could be a good thing needed for the Commanders offensive personnel?
It actually concerned me when Rivera later made his comparison of Bieniemy with defensive coordinator Jack Del Rio. Yes, Del Rio has been an NFL head coach for 12 seasons. That is a tremendous amount of experience. Yet, I don’t know why Rivera would make that comparison publicly. Shouldn’t that have been made between only Rivera and Bieniemy?
“Hey Eric, your intensity is tremendous for us. Thank you for bringing such an urgency to us. However, there is a time and a place for everything. Take Jack, for example, he is demanding, and you need to figure out how you can still be a demanding coach, sometimes quietly, and not cursing the guys so loudly and so often.”