Eric Bieniemy is putting his imprint on the Washington Commanders’ offense. In his first week as the Commanders offensive coordinator and assistant head coach, Bieniemy is shaking up the coaching staff.
On Tuesday, the Commanders parted ways with senior offensive assistant Jim Hostler. Meanwhile, wide receivers coach Drew Terrell accepted a role on the Arizona Cardinals coaching staff.
The Commanders’ offensive staff shake-up continued Wednesday, as two candidates surfaced to join Bieniemy’s staff. According to Nicki Jhabvala of the Washington Post, former Stanford offensive coordinator Tavita Pritchard and Kansas City Chiefs running back coach Greg Lewis visited the Commanders’ team facility.
Lewis played eight seasons as a wide receiver. He went into coaching shortly after his playing career ended after the 2010 season. After stints with the New Orleans Saints and Philadelphia Eagles, Lewis joined the Chiefs staff as a wide receivers coach.
Lewis stayed in the role for four seasons. Then, he got moved to running backs coach in 2021. Presumably, Lewis may be a candidate to replace Terrell as the Commanders’ wide receivers coach.
Meanwhile, Pritchard played quarterback for four years at Stanford. He then joined the Cardinal coaching staff as a grad assistant under head coach David Shaw in 2010.
Pritchard worked his way up the rankings and became Stanford’s offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach from 2018-2022. He got retained by newly hired head coach Troy Taylor as the quarterbacks coach for the 2023 season.
However, he appears to be exploring an opportunity to coach in the NFL. Jeremy Fowler of ESPN added that if Pritchard joins Bieniemy in Washington, the Commanders’ current quarterbacks coach Ken Zampese could remain with the team under a new role.
After five seasons and two Super Bowl championships in three appearances, Bieniemy left the Chiefs under Andy Reid to join the Commanders alongside head coach Ron Rivera.
Bieniemy gained the assistant head coach role by jumping to Washington. He also gained the responsibility of picking his staff, and he’s not wasting time constructing it.
