Two narratives are currently moving through the NFL nation.
Following the Kansas City Chiefs’ home loss to the Philadelphia Eagles 21-17, some of the NFL media types began voicing that the Chiefs’ offense is not the same without former offensive coordinator Eric Bieniemy.
On the other side of the coin, remember during training camp when Ron Rivera revealed that some players had complained about Bieniemy in how he coached/related to the players during camp?
Well, recently, Washington fans have voiced their displeasure with Bieniemy in how he called for consecutive snaps in the shotgun when the Commanders needed only one yard and failed to gain the needed yard both times against Dallas last week.
There is also word that there are Commanders players who do not want Bieniemy to be the interim head coach. Well, that was taken care of last Friday when Ron Rivera saved himself for the remainder of this season by firing Jack Del Rio and Brent Vieselmeyer.
Left tackle Charles Leno wasn’t shy in putting himself on record. When it was suggested to Leno that Bieniemy could be the interim HC if Rivera were fired, Leno responded, “It would be the same. At the end of the day, [Bieniemy] would be focused on our offense, and [defensive coordinator] Jack [Del Rio] would be focused on the defense. What’s the difference from right now?”
No one has yet put their name behind it, but apparently, some players want Rivera to take back some of the power he gave to Bieniemy.
Consequently, this would suggest that Rivera was indeed concerned in the preseason with some of the manners of Bieniemy in how he related to offensive players. Have some of these issues continued throughout the season?
Don’t be naive; Andy Reid wanted Bieniemy to move on so he could bring back Matt Nagy as his offensive coordinator in KC. But why?
Yet, how soft are some of these players?
Might this actually be the major problem with this team this season?