Eric Bieniemy chose to bet on himself when he accepted the offensive coordinator position with the Washington Commanders in February. After serving under Andy Reid for 10 seasons with the Chiefs, including the previous five as offensive coordinator before leaving, many believed Bieniemy needed to lead an offense without Reid’s influence.
There weren’t many options for Bieniemy, so he chose Ron Rivera’s offer and came to Washington. Rivera gave Bieniemy the title of assistant head coach, allowing him to alter how the team practiced during the season in training camp.
Bieniemy faced multiple challenges with the Commanders, including improving an underperforming offense while developing second-year quarterback Sam Howell. Throughout the first half of the season, Bieniemy was accomplishing both things.
Unfortunately, Washington’s offense crashed in Week 11 and has struggled to find consistency since. Howell has struggled, and he hasn’t received much help from his coaches or teammates.
With Rivera expected to be fired after next week’s game against the Cowboys, what happens with Bieniemy?
According to Josina Anderson of CBS Sports, Bieniemy is one of four names linked to the vacant Los Angeles Chargers head coach position.
I’m told the expectation at this time for the #Chargers is that they’ll run their head coach & general manager searches simultaneously, per source.
Some early names surfacing around the HC vacancy at this preliminary stage include Dan Quinn, Eric Bienemy, Jim Harbaugh &…
— JosinaAnderson (@JosinaAnderson) January 2, 2024
The Chargers fired Brandon Staley last month, and Giff Smith is finishing the season as their interim head coach.
As for Chargers’ contenders, Harbaugh will be coaching in the national championship game next week, Quinn will be in the NFL playoffs with Dallas, while Belichick remains under contract as head coach of the Patriots – for now, anyway.
If Los Angeles is interested in Bieniemy, it could interview him as soon as next week after the 2023 season ends.
It hasn’t been a banner year for Bieniemy. He’s done some good things with Washington and Howell. But he’s abandoned the running game far too often in numerous games.
Still, Bieniemy has proven he deserves a shot as an NFL head coach. It’s unlikely it will happen with Washington, although it wouldn’t be a surprise if whoever owner Josh Harris hires as general manager gives Bieniemy a chance to earn the head coaching job.
