Grant reported on Monday that, if Eric Bieniemy were to become a candidate to replace Ron Rivera as Commanders head coach, he likely wouldn’t get a ringing endorsement from his players on offense, who may not love his style of coaching.
On The Sports Junkies, Jason Bishop said that will absolutely play into the team’s decision when it comes to Bieniemy.
“It’s gonna be a factor, what the payers like in terms of their coaches,” Bish said. “If the players, especially on the offensive side, dislike Bieniemy, he’s not gonna be the guy.”
JP Flaim isn’t sure if Bieniemy is the right man for the job, but he also is sure that he isn’t taking the players’ opinions with too much weight, given how they’ve performed in recent years.
“These are the same players who are 4-8. These are loser players who like Ron Rivera, who’s been a loser coach,” JP said. “If you ask the players, they’d probably want to keep Ron Rivera, because they all seem to like him…I don’t care what the players like. I want the best coach. I’m not saying Bieniemy is the best coach.”
Still, there are players on offense that are expected to be foundational pieces for the franchise moving forward, and if they have an issue with Bieniemy, that could absolutely impact his chances of getting the job under the likely circumstance that Rivera is dismissed.
“He’s done a solid job, but it’s not the job that the new regime or GM is gonna look at and say ‘I have to have this guy,’” Cakes said. “Especially if he is under the skin of the offensive skill players that are gonna remain on the roster in 2024 and beyond.”
