Commanders new offensive coordinator Eric Bieniemy was not going to go to the White House as part of the victorious Kansas City Chiefs.
Then his wife and mother expressed he really should attend, stressing the work could wait one day. “My wife and mother shamed me into going,” kidded Bieniemy.
Bieniemy told Julie Donaldson (Commanders Senior Vice President of Broadcasting) that sharing the White House visit experience with many he has known in Kansas City for years was “a great experience” and that he is glad he did determine to attend.
Eric Bieniemy didn't have to travel far for the Chiefs' White House visit …https://t.co/4INvUVzmKY
— Nicki Jhabvala (@NickiJhabvala) June 5, 2023
Turning his focus back to his present job with the Commanders, “We’re trying to build a culture of responsibility and accountability. These guys have been doing things that really have never been demanded, and I want them to have a complete understanding that ‘hey, if we work at it and we take away the selfishness (not that everyone is selfish) if we take away that selfishness we can gain a lot together.”
Bieniemy talked of the team practicing faster and needing to continue to improve that facet. He talked of how there is still a long way to go, but with what he’s seen, he is “happy, excited, fired up about these guys”.
The former Chiefs OC talked of the challenge of getting his new team to believe that “what you put in today is eventually going to pay off down the line”. He spoke of believing enough to “make the decision every single day that we’re going to do all the little things necessary to help us be the best team we can be.”
Donaldson jokingly jabbed Bieniemy expressing that “when watching practice, we hear you”. Bieniemy responded in laughter, then directly responded smiling, “I know the players don’t like that, which is fine, and that’s okay. But they understand why I’m doing it. We can’t take anything for granted.”
Good example of Eric Bieniemy’s coaching style. Early, they practiced jet sweep passes then countered w a jet motion and handoff.
But EB wants motion to keep getting depth: “Hey, receivers, when you cross the ball, lose ground. You got a guard pulling and a U-TE pulling.” pic.twitter.com/zD3ia7axW0
— Sam Fortier (@Sam4TR) May 31, 2023
Bieniemy is putting the responsibility on the players. In fairness to others, of course, other coaches are as well, but perhaps the major difference has been the volume with which Bieniemy leads a practice.
“What I want them to control is the things they can control. You can control how you get out of the huddle. You can control knowing the alignment. You can control your effort. Those are the things that you can control.”
Part two tomorrow
