Earlier this week, Commanders head coach Ron Rivera admitted to putting his foot in his mouth after mentioning in a press conference that some of Washington’s players had concerns about offensive coordinator Eric Bieniemy’s coaching style.
Some of Bieniemy’s former players came to the coach’s defense on social media, including Dolphins receiver Tyreek Hill.
On Friday, Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes was asked in his press conference what he made of the comments coming out of Washington about his former offensive coordinator.
“I think I saw EB said it perfect. EB is going to be harsh on you. He’s going to really try to get the best out of you every single day,” Mahomes said. “He’s going to hold you accountable whenever you don’t even want to hold yourself accountable. And it made me a better player.
“I think what he said that was the biggest thing is that he’s your No. 1 supporter, though. He will go to war with you just like any other guy on your team. And you’ve got to know that. And you’ve got to know when he’s talking to you on the football field, that he’s trying to get the best out of you. He’s not trying to put you down. He’s trying to push you to be even better than you think you can be.
“So, that’s something that I think they’ll understand when they go out there and they start winning football games, is there’s a reason to why he’s coaching you the way that he’s coaching you and that he loves you. I mean, he loves every guy that he coaches. And you see that with the guys that have come out and said stuff about him — Jamaal Charles, Adrian Peterson, Tyreek. They understand that he loves you and he’s going to try to get the best out of you every single day.”
Commanders receiver Curtis Samuel is apparently not one of the players who had concerns, as he recently said that he loves what Bieniemy has brought to the team. And Samuel said just what Mahomes did — that Bieniemy is tough because he wants the best out of the players.
Bieniemy was Mahomes’ offensive coordinator from the time No. 15 became the team’s starting quarterback in 2018 until February, when Bieniemy left Kansas City to become Washington’s assistant head coach/offensive coordinator.