Commanders’ Curtis Samuel defends Eric Bieniemy’s coaching style, says it will ‘bring the best out of players’

Eric Bieniemy’s coaching style came under fire this week after head coach Ron Rivera told reporters that players were “a little concerned” about their new offensive coordinator’s intensity as they continued through training camp. Rivera later backtracked and said that he “put my foot in my mouth” regarding the situation and added that “Eric has done a great job.” 

Still, Rivera’s comments let the toothpaste out of the tube, which begs the question if players are buying into his offensive system or if they are being soured on Bieniemy due to his hardened approach. Well, it sounds like at least one Commanders pass catcher is embracing the situation as wideout Curtis Samuel told NBC Sports that he believes in what Bieniemy is trying to hammer home. 

“He’s a tough coach but nothing I’m not used to. It’s like a college environment,” Samuel said of playing under Bieniemy. “When you’ve got a coach like that that’s being tough and hard on you, he just wants the best out of you. He’s not doing it for ego purposes or for his own benefit, he wants the best out of you. And I feel like doing that type of stuff brings the best out of players. I love it.”

It’s worth pointing out that a couple of Bieniemy’s former players on the Chiefs did come to his defense once Rivera’s comments about player complaining went viral. Tyreek Hill had a similar sentiment to Samuel, posting on social media that “It’s tough but I promise you it will make you better.”

Of course, Kansas City was a juggernaut offensively throughout Bieniemy’s tenure. While a big piece of that pie goes to Patrick Mahomes and Andy Reid, the coach was also a main ingredient. As for what he’s installing in Washington, that does seem to be getting rave reviews. 

“I love the new offense,” Samuel added. “Coach is going to give us a lot of opportunities to be the best we can be.”

The Commanders are coming off a 2022 season where they averaged just 18.9 points and 330.3 total yards per game, which were both in the bottom half of the league. They were also in the bottom third in third-down percentage and red zone efficiency last year. Those lackluster results are why Bieniemy was brought in and he’s now chipping away to revamp this unit.