The Washington Commanders coaching staff appears headed for a shake-up after this season. The team is just 4-10 this season, bringing up the rear of the NFC East, and The Athletic NFL Insider Dianna Russini reported on Saturday the team intends to fire head coach Ron Rivera.
Former Kansas City Chiefs offensive coordinator Eric Bieniemy is in his first year running the offense in Washington, and if he ends up being let go, former NFL defensive lineman and current ESPN analyst Marcus Spears thinks the Steelers need to go after Bieniemy.
“If they group up, they are gonna be hell to deal with, and I think he would be the OC for the job,” Spears wrote on Twitter about a potential fit between Bieniemy and Pittsburgh.
With Pittsburgh marred in a rut offensively that’s seemingly lasted the entirety of the last two seasons, bringing in a veteran coordinator in Bieniemy would make sense. He was the Kansas City Chiefs offensive coordinator from 2018-2022, having a hand in two Super Bowl wins, and he has a prior working relationship with Mike Tomlin. When Bieniemy was the Minnesota Vikings’ running back coach in 2006, Tomlin was the defensive coordinator in Minnesota, so the two are familiar with each other.
The Commanders’ offense this season has been better than their record would suggest, as they’ve gotten some flashes from QB Sam Howell, while RB Brian Robinson Jr. has taken a step forward in his second season. The Commanders rank No. 16 in the NFL at yards per game at 333.4 this season, while they rank No. 23 in points per game at 20.1. Their defense is one of the worst units in football, but Bieniemy has done a solid job this season in an expanded role from the duties he had under Andy Reid in Kansas City.
There’s no doubt that Pittsburgh’s offense could use a new voice in charge, but even with the staff changes in Washington, there’s no guarantee Bieniemy would hit the market, or if he would want to head to Pittsburgh. But he’s definitely a name to watch this offseason, given his prior ties to Tomlin and success running an offense at multiple stops.
