Ron Rivera: Offense Starting To ‘Embrace’ Bienemy’s Message

Washington Commanders head coach Ron Rivera went to great lengths to clarify his comments regarding Eric Bienemy on Wednesday.

Earlier this week, Ron Rivera told the press that certain players were struggling to adapt to Bienemy’s old school style.

Ron Rivera says he has apologized to his assistant and offensive coordinator for the unintentional media storm he caused. 

“I was just trying to convey that we all have our own way of doing things,” he said, “and neither one’s better than the other.”

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“I basically told him I put my foot in my mouth,” he said. 

“What I said wasn’t as clear as it needed to be. I think the understanding of it is just the fact that I think everybody’s making, in my opinion, a little bit more than needs to be made of this. Because again, the results are what you’re looking for on the field, and so far, the last couple days have been outstanding. 

“I think Eric has done a great job of communicating his message now that guys have opened up, talked with him, he’s opened up to them. It’s been a great bit of growth the last couple of days that guys are starting to have the a-ha moments.”

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“As I’ve said many times since I’ve hired Eric, I love the overall message that he gave to the team his first day, and that was basically we’ve got to learn to be comfortable when we’re uncomfortable,” Rivera said. 

“And I think what’s happened is for those guys on that side of the ball, things are uncomfortable. There’s been a lot of change, and the entire way of doing things has changed on the offensive side. Change is hard, and I’ve always encouraged our players to have great dialogue and build relationships with our staff.”