Washington Commanders OC Eric Bieniemy Geoff Burke-USA TODAY Sports

Former Chiefs RB reacts to Commanders coach's Eric Bieniemy comments

Former running back LeSean McCoy once played under current Washington Commanders offensive coordinator and assistant head coach Eric Bieniemy and, thus, knows a thing or two about how Bieniemy addresses players during practices and throughout seasons. 

"The thing that alarmed me the most was the relationship with the players," McCoy said about Bieniemy during a Wednesday appearance on "The Herd with Colin Cowherd" program, per Zach Dean of Outkick. "You have to change with the times. With Bieniemy, I think he’s stuck in that old, back in the days where the coaches were cussing players out … that’s not how it’s played nowadays." 

A potential controversy arose for the Commanders when head coach Ron Rivera acknowledged on Tuesday some of his players struggled to adapt to Bieniemy's intensity and personality after the two-time Super Bowl champion coordinator joined Washington this offseason. A somewhat defiant Bieniemy said later in the day that he simply "is who he is" and Rivera backtracked Wednesday by noting that he "put [his] foot in [his] mouth" via the original statements. 

McCoy had Bieniemy as a coordinator with the Kansas City Chiefs during the 2019 NFL season and suggested that the 53-year-old needs to realize that his coaching style could cause more harm than good in a new environment that doesn't include his offense featuring Patrick Mahomes at quarterback. 

"I was part of that Kansas City Chiefs championship team, and it was terrible," McCoy recalled about Bieniemy. "One of the first things I noticed is how he talks to the players." 

Bieniemy made the move from the Chiefs to the Commanders this past winter, in part so he could serve as the primary offensive play-caller with Washington. It's unknown exactly why Rivera shared such information roughly one month before the Commanders open the regular season with a home game against the Arizona Cardinals on Sept. 10, but it seems he already has a built-in excuse should the club's offense produces multiple duds in Bieniemy's system this fall. 

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