Is Eric Bieniemy still Washington Commanders’ OC despite Kliff Kingsbury’s hiring?

Eric Bieniemy joined the Washington Commanders at the beginning of the 2023 season.

Is Eric Bieniemy still Washington Commanders’ OC despite Kliff Kingsbury’s hiring?

Eric Bieniemy (via Imago)

The Washington Commanders have made their next move. After firing their head coach Ron Rivera and replacing him with former Dallas Cowboys’ DC Dan Quinn, the Commanders have now hired former Arizona Cardinals‘ HC Kliff Kingsbury as their offensive coordinator. Kingsbury will replace Eric Bieniemy as the team’s OC.

The Commanders hired Bieniemy as their offensive coordinator and assistant head coach just last season, so it’s unclear what will happen to him now that Kingsbury has joined the coaching staff. Technically, Bieniemy is still bound by the Commanders’ contract. In 2023, he inked a multi-year contract with Washington to serve as both the offensive coordinator and assistant head coach.

YouTube video

Nevertheless, Bieniemy’s continued employment following Quinn’s hiring doesn’t appear likely. Before officially hiring Kliff Kingsbury as offensive coordinator on Monday, the team interviewed a number of candidates, including Chip Kelly and Kingsbury.

FS Video

Bieniemy might still be in Washington’s plans even after Kingsbury’s hiring. Josh Harris, the owner of the Commanders, even made hints early in the offseason that Bieniemy might be considered for the coaching position.

I’ve enjoyed working with Eric, and, obviously, he’s had success over the years. If I could write the script, (we would be) having our senior football operations executive in place and then approaching the coaching search with Eric and others.
Harris said, according to the Associated Press

But according to ESPN‘s Jeremy Fowler, Eric Bieniemy has been allowed to interview for other positions, including the Las Vegas Raiders‘ offensive coordinator job. As a result, it appears likely that Bieniemy will be coaching somewhere else in 2024.

Washington Commanders hire Joe Whitt Jr. as the team’s defensive coordinator

The Washington Commanders announced the addition of Joe Whitt Jr. as their defensive coordinator. From the time HC Dan Quinn took the Commanders’ job on Thursday, Whitt was considered the top candidate to become his defensive coordinator.

Joe Whitt Jr.
Joe Whitt Jr. (via Imago)

Whitt, 45, has never served as a coordinator despite having been an NFL coach since 2007. He worked with Quinn as an assistant coach in Atlanta in 2020 before returning to Dallas in 2021 to serve as the pass game coordinator and backup coach for the Cowboys. Since 2018, Whitt has worked as a pass game coordinator for three different teams.

With Quinn as the coordinator during his three seasons in that capacity with Dallas, the Cowboys finished third in completion percentage, eighth in passing yards allowed, and third in quarterback rating.

In case you missed it: