Tag: Ken Zampese

Commanders offensive coaching staff looks a lot different in 2023

It all starts with Eric Bieniemy, but there is shuffling all over the place.

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When the Washington Commanders hired Eric Bieniemy as offensive coordinator away from the Kansas City Chiefs in February, they gave him complete autonomy of the offense. He also received the assistant head coach title, which head coach Ron Rivera felt Bieniemy deserved.

“I don’t believe you give the assistant head coach title, and it is gratuitous,” Rivera said Wednesday. “I mean when I was in Carolina, and I gave it to Steve Wilks, Steve did a lot of this stuff too as well. I’ve been holding it for a while here, and then when the opportunity to give it to Eric and again to make sure it’s something that’s not just gratuitous, it’s not just a title, but it’s a working title, and he’s doing those things, and he’s got those responsibilities. I think he relishes it. I mean, he’s one of those guys that very few people are gonna outwork, and he works very hard at what he’s doing, and he’s developing his way of doing it.”

Early on, Bieniemy has made his presence felt this spring with the Commanders, bringing a different energy to practice and getting on players, such as quarterback Sam Howell and running back Antonio Gibson.

While Bieniemy is front and center among Washington’s offensive coaching staff, the entire group looks much different in 2023. The only coaches returning in the same roles are running backs coach Randy Jordan, assistant running backs coach Jennifer King and assistant tight ends coach Todd Storm.

However, Storm is among those who will have an increased role in 2023. The current tight ends coach, Juan Castillo, is best known for his work as Andy Reid’s longtime offensive line coach in Philadelphia. While Castillo will still hold the title of TEs coach, Storm will see more responsibility in 2023, according to Nicki Jhabvala of The Washington Post.

Additionally, we know last year’s assistant offensive line coach, Travelle Wharton, will eventually be the new offensive line coach once Washington’s ownership situation is settled. Rivera said as much recently. Castillo will help Wharton out for the time being.

Assisting Storm is Ken Zampese, the quarterbacks coach from the past three seasons. Zampese was re-assigned as a senior offensive advisor/game management coach in the offseason under Bieniemy.

Tavita Pritchard replaced Zampese as QBs coach. Former veteran NFL wide receiver Bobby Engram replaced Drew Terrell as wide receivers coach.

We mentioned Castillo as a potential replacement for John Matsko as the offensive line coach when the team made a change in March. As it turns out, he will assist Wharton. It’s not known if these coaching changes are only for the offseason or will carry into the 2023 NFL season.

Commanders announce multiple staff changes

The Commanders announced some coaching moves Tuesday.

The Washington Commanders have had some coaching movement since the end of the season. The Commanders lost defensive backs coach Chris Harris to the Tennessee Titans. Washington didn’t immediately name a replacement, but the thinking was the Commanders would promote from within and spread out the responsibilities.

On Tuesday, the Commanders announced they had promoted three coaches in the secondary:

  • Brent Vieselmeyer has been promoted to the role defensive backs coach
  • Richard Rodgers has been promoted to the role of senior defensive assistant/safeties
  • Cristian Garcia has been promoted to the role of assistant defensive backs/nickels coach

On offense, Washington officially announced the hiring of Stanford quarterbacks coach Tavita Pritchard as the new QB coach. Pritchard played quarterback at Stanford and immediately went into coaching, serving as offensive coordinator for the previous five seasons. Overall, he spent the past 13 seasons as a coach at his alma mater.

In response to that move, former QB coach Ken Zampese moves into a new role as senior offensive advisor/game management. Zampese is entering his 25th NFL season as a coach and his fourth with the Commanders.

The Commanders interviewed Chiefs running back Greg Lewis for a role on new offensive coordinator Eric Bieniemy’s staff, but no announcement has been made at this time.

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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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Does Ron Rivera already have his mind made up on the next offensive coordinator?

Some believe so.

The Washington Commanders fired offensive coordinator Scott Turner two weeks ago. Since that time, they’ve interviewed Pat Shurmur, [Commanders  QB coach] Ken Zampese, [Falcons QB coach] Charles London and [Dolphins AHC/RB coach] Eric Studesville as potential replacements for Turner.

Washington plans to interview Rams assistant Thomas Brown this week. The Commanders also wanted to interview Jim Caldwell and Darrell Bevell, but they declined the opportunity.

The Commanders appear to be casting a wide net in their search for a new offensive coordinator, even telling interested parties that Sam Howell is the team’s plan at quarterback in 2023.

While it appears Washington is doing its due diligence, is it possible that head coach Ron Rivera already has his mind made up on the next offensive coordinator? According to Albert Breer of Sports Illustrated, that’s what some around the NFL believe.

A lot of people think Ron Rivera is going to hire quarterbacks coach Ken Zampese to be the Commanders’ next offensive coordinator.

If it’s already being speculated that Zampese will be the choice that makes Washington’s search look like a joke. Now, in fairness to Rivera, perhaps this is pure speculation. Maybe Breer asked another coach or GM who he believed Rivera would hire, and the coach/GM answered with Zampese.

Rivera is entering a critical fourth year of his tenure in Washington, and with a potential new owner soon, he needs to win. Would Zampese represent Washington’s best chance to win?

Considering what type of offense Rivera wants to run, we detailed why former Baltimore offensive coordinator Greg Roman would be an ideal choice. However, we have yet to hear of any mutual interest between the two sides.

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Where does the Commanders’ offensive coordinator opening rank?

How appealing is Washington’s vacant offensive coordinator position compared to other openings?

Someone is always to blame when a team’s season doesn’t go as expected. For fans, most of the blame goes to the offensive coordinator — right or wrong.

The Washington Commanders fired offensive coordinator Scott Turner after the 2022 season. Turner’s firing was justified by Washington’s offensive performance late in the season. However, not everything was Turner’s fault. It wasn’t Turner’s fault Washington didn’t adequately address the quarterback position, nor was it his fault that head coach Ron Rivera didn’t upgrade the offensive line after trading for quarterback Carson Wentz.

Turner wasn’t blameless, though. His play-calling was a major reason Washington lost to the New York Giants in that critical Week 15 game.

Regardless of who you blame, the Commanders still need an offensive coordinator. Last week, Washington interviewed Pat Shurmur, Ken Zampese and Charles London. This week, the Commanders plan to interview Eric Studesville and Thomas Brown, among other candidates.

The problem for Washington is seven other teams need an offensive coordinator. This isn’t counting the teams with head-coaching vacancies. How does the Commanders’ offensive coordinator opening stack up against the other openings?

Mike Jones of The Athletic recently ranked each of the current eight openings. The other teams looking for an offensive coordinator are the Jets, Buccaneers, Patriots, Rams, Titans, Ravens and Chargers. The first thing you look at when examining that list is who has a franchise quarterback.

The Chargers [Justin Herbert] and Ravens [Lamar Jackson] do. Of course, there is some uncertainty regarding Jackson’s future with Baltimore. The Rams are an enticing option because you’d work for Sean McVay but likely would not call plays.

Where is Washington ranked?

Jones has the Commanders ranked No. 5 behind the Chargers, Rams, Buccaneers and Ravens.

If we’re just going off personnel, then this is a pretty intriguing job. The offensive coordinator inherits three talented wideouts (Terry McLaurin, Curtis Samuel and Jahan Dotson), a solid tight end in Logan Thomas and a promising running back in Brian Robinson Jr. Despite instability at quarterback, Washington still flirted with a playoff berth. But, the uncertainty engulfing the franchise makes this job less attractive. There are questions about the next quarterback. Is it Sam Howell or an established veteran currently on another roster? Ron Rivera is entering Year 4, but with a sale expected soon, there’s no telling if the next offensive coordinator is signing up for a one-and-done job. A new owner could possibly clean house if a 2023 campaign proves unsatisfactory.

Everything Jones said is true and something we’ve been saying for weeks. The uncertainty of Rivera’s future, due to the pending sale and his need to win in 2023, will turn off some candidates.

With another week of interviews set for this week, it will be interesting to see what type of coordinator Rivera eventually chooses. Will he choose someone he’s comfortable with [Shurmur], or go outside the box with a young candidate like Brown?

Whatever decision Rivera makes, it’s a critical hire for the Commanders heading into a make-or-break season for the current coaching staff.

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Commanders QB Coach Ken Zampese likes his trio.

Ken Zampese likes all three of his quarterbacks and discusses each one.

Commanders quarterback coach Ken Zampese talked to the media Friday about losing his father (Ernie), growing up a coach’s son and his current Washington position group.

This is part two and will look into his current trio of quarterbacks.

Zampese was asked what the difference is in coaching Carson Wentz (6-year starter) and Taylor Heinicke (first-year of starting 2021).

“I hit it off with both of them, really easily. They’re both guys that have a grit to them. There are certain guys that have a high grit level, that have a high pain threshold, and can play under pressure that way. They’re so fun to be around because they don’t get affected by outside forces. You can talk about things in the heat of it, and their minds are not on the last series. You can really get to what we’re going to do next. Both of those guys are like that.”

Zampese was expecting to have veteran Ryan Fitzpatrick last year when suddenly it was Taylor Heinicke’s job for 17 games. “It was so much fun this past year with Taylor because, ‘Hey we’re here, let’s go.’ You knew you were going to get your best from him. You knew you were going to get his whole heart and soul all the time. That’s all you can ask for anyway.”

Zampese in 2022 is given the challenge of working to help Wentz improve his game.

“There’s always certain things you want to move in the direction of more often to gain consistency. We try to do that on a daily basis, and he really likes to work. He puts his mind to it, and he really likes to talk about the details of things. Getting things fixed for anybody, it’s not an overnight thing; It’s a process thing. And as long as both people are committed to going in that same direction and see things the same way you can make strides as you go. And that’s what we’re doing.”

Change can be difficult for anyone, even an NFL quarterback who has been a starter for six consecutive seasons. Yet, Zampese stated he believed playing in any offense for a period helps because there are concepts that carry over, He believes Wentz is a good study and added, “Thank goodness, he’s got an urgency about him that wants to know why we do it this way so that we can then play that way.”

Ken is seeing Carson increase his comfort zone heading into the season.
“Each day is just a little bit more. It doesn’t mean that you’re going to win. It just means you’re going to put yourself in a position more often to do it right. Then, that will lead to winning. The consistency over time and making good decisions, to being on time, knowing who that person is and where he comes out of the break. All those things increase your odds a little bit. That’s all we’re trying to do each day, is put the odds in our favor a little bit more through technique, through understanding of players, through understanding of zones where the ball’s going and why.”

Zampese is a big believer in not only arm mechanics but footwork being vitally important. “Any throws that you throw without your feet firmly planted, as if you have money on throwing the ball to that target, usually the odds go down. Sometimes they make you do it and sometimes you do it just because you fell off of that one. Well, the discipline to stay and not fall off is what we’re trying to get.”

Using a basketball analogy, Zampese added, “We got to hit all the open threes that we can because we’re going to have to put the ball on the floor often enough, you know?”

Asked regarding his early impression of rookie Sam Howell, “When somebody gives you such a talented player, you got to find ways to buy time throughout the week, and we do that. I make sure I ask him questions in meetings, and we spend time Friday after practice. We spend a little time throwing and then Wednesday and Thursday; he has specific things that we talked about doing that he does on his own. Then we do it together Friday, the red zone stuff and it’s been fun.”

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Commanders QB coach Ken Zampese: Like father, like son

Washington Commanders QB coach Ken Zampese spoke to the media on Friday.

Commanders quarterback coach Ken Zampese has been going through some tough times the last few weeks.

No, not in coaching the Commanders quarterbacks. Much more importantly, Ken’s father, Ernie Zampese died on August 29.

“(I’m) deeply saddened of course selfishly, but very happy and thankful. Everybody hopefully gets a chance to hear well done, good and faithful servant; he did two weeks ago today. So, congratulations to him, very happy for him. He’s my first call. My first guy. He and I were tighter than tight, so there’s nothing left unsaid.  It went quick and it was good for him. He’s in a better place.”

Ken recalls attending training camps when dad Ernie was the Chargers offensive coordinator. “Well, I got a chance to go to training camp at an early age, so that was so much fun for me to watch and be around guys. The ball never hit the ground. I’m watching Don Coryell with Dan Fouts, Charlie Joiner, Kellen Winslow, John Jefferson, Wes Chandler, Lydell Mitchell. All these guys running around catching balls. I had no idea what I was looking at. I had no idea.”

“That was a lot of fun and just seeing dad being the orchestrator of it all. Putting the pieces together but more importantly, what I gained from him was developing relationships, deep lasting, meaningful relationships that just get you to another level of kumbaya with the group you’re in and friendship and camaraderie with the guys. As you noticed, anybody who finishes playing or coaching, they missed the camaraderie more than anything else, and he was a camaraderie builder.”

“From quarterback barbecues in the backyard on Friday nights to all sorts of different things. He built community at every turn. All one-off relationships, meaningful, unique to that person. He’s got little crews all over the place. You go to the Chevron; he’s got a crew at the Chevron 5:00 AM coffee; he’s helping the lady open up. Taking the old papers out, putting the new papers in, getting her set up. Then the guys that work the manual labor jobs are rolling in for coffee. He’s there. They’re going through whatever the deals of the day are. Then he goes over to the grocery store. He knows all the ladies at the pharmacies. He knows everything was building unity, relationships, and community and that’s what I took from him.”

One of the things he learned from dad Ernie that he still uses today is, “It’s just how you deliver a message. You can say anything to somebody, as hard as the message might be, and it’s all in the delivery. The more you have built up before you get to the delivery, the better it’s gonna get received.”

“The only thing gets you through the toughest times is the bonds that you have with the people immediately in your circle. So, we are strengthening and reinforcing those on a daily basis. It was the first thing that hit my brain when we got him (Wentz), after being so excited about it. Broke my leg, doing back flips down the hallway. Just how do we get him tied here, deeply emotionally for he and his family and so we can get the most out of him for all of us.”

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Washington still sees a future for Dwayne Haskins: ‘Few people can throw a ball like that’

We don’t know when we will see Dwayne Haskins on the field next, but it’s clear that there are chapters left to be written in his career.

At this point in time, it’s unclear when we are going to see Washington quarterback Dwayne Haskins on the field again. It could happen this week against the Cincinnati Bengals should he need to fill in for Alex Smith (*furiously knock on wood*) or it could be a few weeks down the road, should Washington be eliminated from playoff contention. Heck, it could be that the next time we see Haskins play football is in a different uniform for all we know.

What matters, though, is that the coaching staff in Washington, primarily QB coach Ken Zampese, is holding onto the notion that there is hope for Haskins, and he has a future as a quarterback in the NFL.

The main thing that Haskins has had going for him throughout his entire NFL career has been his arm strength, which many say is among the best in the league. However, his lack of experience in college mixed with the tumultuous situation he was thrown into in the NFL set him up for failure, and by the time that Ron Rivera got a good sample size from him, he made the decision that Haskins wasn’t ready. Yet.

There is still a lot of learning to be done and maturation to take place, but there is some hope that Haskins’ career hasn’t had the book closed before it’s really begun. We don’t know if the next chapters will take place in Washington or not, but it’s pretty apparent that there are more chapters to be written, at the very least.

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Expect Washington’s offense to have ‘attack mentality’ in 2020

With a new OC and QB coach in Washington, we can expect to see a lot more innovation and aggressiveness from the Washington offense.

Remember midway through the 2019 season when Bill Callahan was entrenched in a power-struggle with Kevin O’Connell and they were constantly battling over whether to deploy a run-heavy offense or something that better suited the style of football played this century?

It doesn’t seem like we will have to deal with that for much longer. Both Callahan and O’Connell are gone, and two huge offensive voices that have taken their places are Scott Turner and Ken Zampese. The latter spoke to the media after training camp on Thursday and stated that he wants the offense to attack in 2020, while staying smart and being careful with the ball.

This is good news for Dwayne Haskins, and Terry McLaurin, and Derrius Guice, and fantasy football owners who are brave enough to deploy Washington players in their weekly lineups. We believe that there is the talent necessary to be good in D.C., now we just need to see them given the chance.

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Top quotes from QB coach Ken Zampese’s talk at 2020 training camp

New QB coach Ken Zampese talked with media members at training camp for the first time, detailing his plans on molding Dwayne Haskins.

One of the best things about training camp getting going in the NFL is the chance to hear from some of the people and coaches who haven’t been in the spotlight over the past several months.

One of those people is the new QB coach in Washington, Ken Zampese, who was hired to work under Ron Rivera and oversee the development of both Dwayne Haskins and Kyle Allen. When talking to media members on Thursday, Zampese discussed his transition into the new role, as well as what he expects to see from Haskins and the rest of the team going forward. Here are the best quotes and comments from the conversation.

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