Former Chiefs RB LeSean McCoy rebuked for hypocritical Eric Bieniemy take: ‘LET IT GO BUCKO’
Many in the NFL have made it clear that they believe Eric Bieniemy deserves a head coaching job, but one of his former players isn’t even sure he’s ready to be an offensive play-caller.
Former NFL running back LeSean McCoy, who played under Bieniemy in 2019, said on FS1’s Speak that he doesn’t think the Commanders’ offensive coordinator is ready for his new role.
“He has nothing to do with the passing game at all,” McCoy said, adding, “If the plays are drafted, that’s Andy Reid.”
McCoy said Bieniemy wasn’t heavily involved in offensive meetings while he was with the Chiefs. “He’s not talking there, Andy Reid is talking there,” McCoy said.
The comments were staggering considering Bieniemy has been widely praised by his players and peers in the past, with some of them quick to come to his defence.
MORE: Why Chiefs’ Eric Bieniemy deserves credit for ‘corn dog shuttle’ calls that helped win Super Bowl 57
Jamaal Charles, who had Bieniemy as a coach at Kansas City, said the 53-year-old taught him many things and “deserves to be a head coach.”
Kahlil McKenzie, who spent a year with the Chiefs when Bieniemy was offensive coordinator, lashed out and said McCoy was “in KC to be carried.”
McCoy totaled 646 scrimmage yards and three touchdowns for the Chiefs in 2019, a season that ended in a Super Bowl win.
Tyreek Hill and Charcandrick West didn’t have it either. Hill starred alongside McCoy in 2019.
McCoy’s comments might have been taken more seriously if he hadn’t said three years ago that Bieniemy deserved a head coaching job.
“It’s time for him. You hear his name over and over again. Usually where there’s some smoke, there’s some fire,” McCoy told reporters at Super Bowl 54 media day in 2020.
MORE: Why Eric Bieniemy leaving Chiefs for Commanders will help him escape Andy Reid’s shadow and become NFL head coach
Two years later, however, McCoy’s tone changed. He said on the I AM ATHLETE podcast that Bieniemy didn’t deserve a head coaching job because of the way he treated players.
“Some players, he talks to them in a certain way and some players will accept it. I wouldn’t accept it,” he said.
Bieniemy now has a chance to prove McCoy and all the other doubters wrong while taking the reins of the Commanders’ offensive. Bieniemy, a two-time champion offensive coordinator, can be the right choice for the next offseason as head coach if he can turn a weak offense into an above-average unit.