“We are free!” – Commanders getting rid of Eric Bieniemy as OC for Kliff Kingsbury has Washington fans relieved

Fans take jabs at Eric Bieniemy after Commanders hire Kliff Kingsbury as offensive coordinator.

“We are free!” – Commanders getting rid of Eric Bieniemy as OC for Kliff Kingsbury has Washington fans relieved

(L) Kliff Kingsbury and (R) Eric Bieniemy (Image via IMAGO)

The Washington Commanders have made significant changes to their coaching setup in the past few days. But none is more surprising than replacing Eric Bieniemy with Kliff Kingsbury as the new offensive coordinator.

Prior to the announcement, Kingsbury’s destination was the Las Vegas Raiders. He was the favorite to take over the OC job in Vegas under the new full-time head coach, Antonio Pierce. However, the script flipped on Saturday when ESPN insider Adam Schefter announced that the Commanders had managed to lure Kingsbury away to DC.

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This could be a strategic move from the commander’s front office. They had already hired former Cowboys defensive coordinator Dan Quinn as their new head coach, which is the spot many thought would go to either Ben Johnson or Bieniemy. The other candidate was Bill Belichick, whom they interviewed.

Bieniemy losing out to Quinn was the first indication that the new owners wanted to start afresh. That’s probably the reason they let the former Chiefs OC go. Hiring Kingsbury was the second nail in the coffin, which could prove to be the final one.

Fans react to commanders firing Eric Bieniemy

The 54-year-old was one of the most qualified individuals to stay, despite the house cleaning from Josh Harris. Bieniemy’s resume includes two Super Bowls with the Chiefs.

"We are free!" - Commanders getting rid of Eric Bieniemy as OC for Kliff Kingsbury has Washington fans relieved
Washington Commanders Assistant Head Coach and Offensive Coordinator, Eric Bieniemy, takes the field for the NFL, American Football Herren, USA game between the Buffalo Bills and the Washington Commanders on (Image via IMAGO)

In his absence, Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes had his worst season since becoming the starter. He threw for 261.4 yards on average and had a quarterback rating of 63 (both career-low statistics). Under him, second-year quarterback Sam Howell threw for 3,946 passing yards and 21 touchdowns. However, Commanders fans were relieved to see the back of Bieniemy because their season ended with just four wins.

Now that Eric Bieniemy is no longer in Washington, where do the football analysts predict he will end up? It’s entirely possible he won’t get a job for the 2024 season. But his credentials are so good that it would be head-scraping if a franchise didn’t hire him. Coincidentally, there’s already a tailor-made job for him.

According to ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler, Bieniemy is in pole position to be the offensive coordinator of the Las Vegas Raiders. Fowler revealed that the Raiders have already had a meeting. He will compete with Chicago Bears OC Luke Getsy and former Houston Texans offensive coordinator Pep Hamilton.

Bieniemy undeniably has the best resume out of the three. It will be a big jolt for the Chiefs, who are the Raiders AFC West rivals. But it’s all part of the business. The Raiders are also looking to draft a new quarterback, possibly Jayden Daniels, and Bieniemy has a good record developing a QB.

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