“We’re going to the Super Bowl” - Commanders fans saddle Eric Bieniemy with high expectations after hire becomes official

By Ian Van Roy

Published Feb 18, 2023 18:05 GMT

Former offensive coordinator at Kansas City Chiefs Media Availability

Just days after the Super Bowl, the reigning champion Kansas City Chiefs lost a potentially big piece of the pie in offensive coordinator Eric Bieniemy. The offensive coordinator left Kansas City for the Washington Commanders in a lateral move. However, coming from Lombardi Lane, expectations remain sky-high for the coordinator based on what fans are saying.

Why did Eric Bieniemy join the Washington Commanders?

The offensive coordinator's reasons for leaving the Chiefs are unknown in an official capacity, but many have offered their speculative reasons. The most common argument made by fans is that the coordinator was overshadowed by Andy Reid to the point that his ability to perform without him was doubted.

As such, there wasn't enough interest for the franchise to stake it all on the coordinator. It is well known that Andy Reid calls the plays in Kansas City, which leaves Bieniemy's true contributions up in the air. However, in joining the Commanders, the assumption is that the coordinator will have full responsibility for calling the plays for the offense.

Once he proves himself in that regard, the biggest gap in his resume will be filled and teams will have no reason to decline his attempts to move up to head coach. Basically, it would serve as the final piece on his resume, which is already studded with talent. Some Commanders fans believe that depending on how 2023 goes, Bieniemy could even become the team's head coach in 2024.

His coaching experience dates back to 2001 when he spent about 15 of his first 17 years coaching running backs in college and the NFL. With the Chiefs, he spent five years coaching the running backs and five years as the offensive coordinator. In his first year with the team as a coordinator, Mahomes made his debut as an NFL starter.

Since then, he's served as part of one of the most impressive offensive performances of the last half-decade. He has coached in three Super Bowls and won two of them. He has also served as the AFC Championship game coordinator five times.

While teams appear to doubt his ability to run a full franchise, Bieniemy still has the title and stands on the sidelines for a reason. Fans would agree that it isn't as if the coach simply served as moral support for the head coach and 2023 will be a means for the offensive coordinator to prove it.

About the author

Ian brings with him more than 6.5 years of sports writing experience to the Sportskeeda NFL team. He played offensive line in middle school and high school, and also made it to the top 0% matchmaking ranking in MUT play in Madden.

He possesses the quality of identifying unique story angles from quotes in press conferences, social media and interviews. He assimilates facts for his stories with a lawyer-like precision and verifies each and every piece of information.

Ian admires Peyton Manning for his ability to beat teams with his mind despite not being the best athlete, and is also a fan of Tom Brady. The Denver Broncos are his favorite team, and their Super Bowl 50 win in Manning’s last game is etched in his memory forever. Bill Belichick is his all-time favorite coach.

He has also grown to admire the Los Angeles Rams mainly because he and Cooper Kupp went to the same college, Eastern Washington University, with both finishing their college careers at the same time.

In his career so far, Ian has had the privilege of exclusively interviewing Los Angeles Rams General Manager Les Snead, Kwity Paye of the Indianpolis Colts and Cleveland Browns wide receiver Jamari Thrash. When not writing, he likes to play video games and be outdoors.

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