Commanders WR says new OC has brought 'culture' to team

The Washington Commanders made one of the biggest coaching moves in the NFL this offseason when they brought in Eric Bieniemy from the Kansas City Chiefs to serve as their new offensive coordinator.

It has not taken him long to make a big impression on some of the team's returning players.

Most notably, second-year wide receiver Jahan Dotson said this weekend that Bieniemy has brought "culture" to the team.

From The Washington Post:

"I feel like he's brought culture to our team. He's brought a sense of energy, a sense of urgency. It's been really good just being able to learn from him and just get familiar with the things he wants us to do and the things we want to do."

Bieniemy spent the past five years as the offensive coordinator for the Kansas City Chiefs and helped build one of the league's best offenses around Patrick Mahomes and Travis Kelce. 

Despite that success, and even though he was consistently touted as one of the top head coaching candidates in every hiring cycle, he was consistently passed over for top jobs around the league. That led to him leaving Kansas City this offseason for a new opportunity with the Commanders.

One of the big questions with Bieniemy is how much of an influence he actually had over the Chiefs offense, and how much of it—from the design to the play-calling on gamedays—was head coach Andy Reid. 

Moving to Washington should help separate him from that argument, and if he helps put a powerful offense around this Commanders team it should put all of those questions in the rear view mirror. Not only will he be away from Reid, he is not going to have Mahomes, Kelce and the Chiefs' collection of superstars to build around. 

While the Commanders do have some very talented skill position players on offense, including wide receivers Dotson and Terry McLaurin, it is an offense that has finished near the bottom of the league every year under head coach Ron Rivera. It will also be going with a very inexperienced quarterback in second-year player Sam Howell, continuing a multi-year trend of new Week 1 starters for the team. 

It is going to be a big challenge to make this offense dynamic. But the potential is certainly there.