The Washington Commanders introduced Eric Bieniemy as their new offensive coordinator and assistant head coach. Bieniemy said it was time for him to leave the Kansas City Chiefs after ten seasons, five as their offensive coordinator.
Bieniemy had a ton of success with the Chiefs, reaching five straight AFC Championship Games and three Super Bowls, winning two. He had a large hand in the maturation of two-time NFL MVP quarterback Patrick Mahomes.
Yet, not all were impressed by Bieniemy’s work in Kansas City. Despite a great deal of success, Bieniemy was unable to land a head coach position. One former Chiefs player, LeSean “Shady” McCoy, offered his reasons why Bieniemy has fallen short of being a head coach.
McCoy recently said Bieniemy had “nothing to do with the pass game” in Kansas City. He also knocked Bieniemy for his interactions with players. However, fellow former Chiefs running back Jamaal Charles and wide receiver Tyreek Hill, among others, have defended Bieniemy.
After his introduction to the Commanders, Bieniemy got asked about McCoy’s comments. The coach chose to take the high road in his response.
“LeSean McCoy is a future Hall-of-Fame runner. OK? Everybody is entitled to their own comments and how they feel,” Bieniemy said, via John Keim of ESPN. “When it’s all said and done with, I think that’s all I have to say because he’s entitled to his own opinion.”
McCoy played one season with the Chiefs in 2019, after six in Philadelphia and four in Buffalo. He took a backseat to Damien Williams, leading to McCoy being inactive in the AFC Championship Game and Super Bowl LIV.
“That’s life,” Bieniemy continued. “You have good, and you have bad. It does not impact me in any way because one thing you learn when you’re in this position. You have to learn to eliminate distractions. My job is to focus on the now. Everything outside these walls has no impact on Eric Bieniemy moving forward.”
Eric Bieniemy gets the opportunity to call the shots on the Commanders’ offense. He will get the chance to squash any unfavorable narrative about him.
Yet, we probably haven’t heard the last word from McCoy regardless of what Bieniemy says or the amount of support he receives from Chiefs players. But, Bieniemy’s success in Washington will take away any weight from McCoy’s comments.
