The Commanders open their preseason Friday night in Cleveland – and on their last day of quick practice before leaving for the Land, The Athletic’s Ben Standig joined The Sports Junkies to discuss what the team looks like heading into their 2023 debut…but of course, the first topic was the Rivera-Bieniemy situation, based off of his latest column on the two men working together “to remain power players in their line of work.”
Wait, is this just a marriage of convenience for both the Commanders and the coaches?
“I think that’s kind of why what happened the last 48 hours is so curious – there’s been no sign of any issue, and there may not be any now, after Ron said yesterday he misspoke about concerns about Bieniemy’s coaching style,” Standig said. “I don’t want to infer too much, but at the same point, I think this all comes back to the central point of why they’re together – people act like Eric has come in here to save the day, and maybe he will, but he needed this opportunity to maybe get a chance to be a head coach, and he needs this to work as much as Rivera does with his record here.”
What makes it all the more curious is that Rivera’s comments came on the same day Bieniemy was scheduled to speak with the media…is there perhaps a little jealousy over attention?
“How many times have we dealt with something like this with Rivera? The amateur psychologist part is that it’s not that he said this, but when he said this – and it can’t just be coincidental, because we pretty much ask about Bieniemy every day, and he’s often the center of attention,” Standig said. “The other thing is that Jason Wright have an interview recently in which he said the Commanders are lucky to have Bieniemy, who is helping to change the culture – and it feels like that’s one of the things Rivera takes pride in, so for that comment to be made, I’m sure Rivera is aware, and I wonder if that rankled him.”
Take a listen to Standig’s entire call-in above to hear more on that, plus the first two weeks of Commanders camp!
Follow The Sports Junkies on Twitter: @moneymetalcakes, @ebjunkies, @lurchbish, @glassjoejp, @drabtshirt, & @JunksRadio
Keep up with The Team 980 via:
Audacy App | Online Stream | Twitter | Facebook | Instagram
Related
Related
