Washington Commanders head coach Ron Rivera has apologized for seemingly undermining his new OC Eric Beiniemy at a prior press conference. On Tuesday (August 8), Rivera said that some of the players had expressed "concern" over Beiniemy's intensity during training sessions. "I had a number of guys come to me and I said, 'Hey, just go talk to him.' I said, 'Understand what he's trying to get across to you,'" Rivera said. "As they go and they talk and they listen to him, it's been enlightening for a lot of these guys. I mean, it's a whole different approach."
Meanwhile, Beiniemy, who joined the Commanders after a decade in Kansas City, was unapologetic about his approach to the game. "I'm always going to be loud, always going to be vocal, always going to demand from my leaders," Bieniemy said. "If I ain't doing my job, my ass gets fired. It's my job and my responsibility to make sure I'm getting our guys to do what I'm expecting them to do." However, Rivera has now come out to clarify his comments about his new OC.
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Rivera Walks About "Concern" Comments
"I hired Eric, and I loved his overall message to the team his first day -- that we have to learn to be comfortable when you're uncomfortable," Rivera said Wednesday. "With guys on that side of the ball, they were uncomfortable. There's been a lot of change, and the entire way of doing things has changed on the offensive side. Change is hard. Since those conversations took place with Eric and the players, I've seen the improvements. The last couple practices have probably been the best of training camp. That displays how the team has embraced the message and how he does things and how he wants things done," Rivera further said that he "put his foot in his mouth" and that he had also spoken to Beiniemy privately.
The hope is that the two-time Super Bowl champion coach can bring new life to an ailing Commanders offense, which has not ranked higher than 20th in points and yards per game since 2017. After a rotating cast of quarterbacks, the Commanders appear to be putting their faith in 2022 fifth-round pick Sam Howell. Howell started the season finale of the 2022 season an impressed in an upset win over the Cowboys.
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