After another embarrassing loss from Ron Rivera’s Washington Commanders, falling to the Cowboys 45-10 on Thanksgiving in front of a national audience, it’s near certainly the new ownership group will be exploring all options at the end of the regular season.
On Black Friday, the Commanders announced they were parting ways with defensive coordinator Jack Del Rio and their defensive backs coach. That felt like a move to appease the fans and not embarrassing Rivera by firing him in-season.
Still, barring a miracle, Rivera won’t be coaching in Washington in 2024.
On the Nov. 28 episode of “The Sports Junkies” the biggest sports radio show in D.C. on 106.7 The Fan, one of the hosts brought up an intriguing candidate as the potential coach for the Commanders in 2024.
“I wanted to throw this out there, because he’s going to be one of the biggest names for pro owners in the offseason,” John-Paul Flaim said. “The head coach of the Michigan Wolverines, Jim Harbaugh. He coached in the pros, was successful in the pros. He’s basically been successful everywhere he’s been. Now he didn’t win a Super Bowl, and he hasn’t won a national championship, but he’s been damn close.”
“I know the fan base is big into Eric Bieniemy,” Flaim said. Bieniemy’s offense is better than Scott Turner’s offense, statistically they are totaling more yards, I think they rank No. 12 in the NFL in yards right now. It’s not some dramatic improvement, but I think you have to give Bienemy credit for Howell’s development, and I think he’s just popular with the fans.”
The Junkies then posed a question for the Commanders fan base.
If you just had that binary choice of those two, Eric Bieniemy or Jim Harbaugh, who do you go with?
Eric Bieniemy as Commanders HC in 2024?
The Junkies are right when they say a large portion of the fan base wants Bieniemy — who was the offensive coordinator and mentored by Andy Reid — but gambled on himself to come to Washington after constantly getting passed over for head coaching opportunities despite the offensive juggernaut he was a major part of in Kansas City.
“It’s tough because I like the winning aspect of Harbaugh, but I also like upside Bieniemy has already brought to this team, whether it’s with Sam Howell or someone else,” co-host John Auville added.
Bieniemy was brought in and agreed to take on second-year NFL QB Sam Howell as the team’s starter for the 2023 campaign, who had one career start before the season.
There have been growing pains and one of the NFL’s worst offensive lines hasn’t helped but the 2022 fifth-round draft pick currently leads the entire league in total yards (3,3038), completions (298).
Howell‘s completion percentage (66.7) is ahead of Justin Herbert (66.2) and literally one point behind Joe Burrow (66.8). His 18 touchdown passes are tied with Brock Purdy, and he’s found the end zone through the air more than CJ Stroud (17), Jared Goff (16), Jalen Hurts (15), Burrow (15), Lamar Jackson (12), Trevor Lawrence (11), and has only five NFL starting QBs with more TDs this season including Herbert, Dak Prescott and Patrick Mahomes who all have just one more (19).
It’s clear Bieniemy has developed a noticeable chemistry and rapport with a 5th-round QB that most now believe has shown enough to be the franchise signal caller Washington has been searching for.
“Bieniemy has been an intriguing candidate for a while,” Yahoo NFL writer George Schwab wrote.
Nobody other than Harris and the new Washington Commanders’ inner circle within the ownership group knows the potential plan, but it would be stunning if there isn’t a change at both coach and general manager following the regular season.
While Bieniemy may get head coaching offers from other teams, it’s safe to say the current Washington OC will at least be in the running as Harris and company evaluate potential candidates.
The Case for Harbaugh as next Commanders coach
First and foremost, the Junkies brought up the biggest elephant in the room. While making Bieniemy Washington’s future coach could be done with a few million dollar raise, luring Harbaugh to D.C. is going to take a pile of cash…a big one.
“It would be big money for Harbaugh, I mean big, big money” Flaim said. “And you would probably have to commit to five or six years.”
The crew then brought up the unprecedented deal the Raiders inked with Jon Gruden worth $100 million back in 2018.
“Now, I don’t think Harris and the other owners are crazy enough to hand anybody, even Harbaugh, a 10-year deal” Auville added. “Now I could see a four or five year deal, and it’s going to be for big money, and I don’t know, what’s the price tag there, probably $15 million at least, I would guess.”
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In four years in the NFL, Harbaugh led the San Francisco 49ers to the NFC Championship three times, winning the NFC title in 2012. He tallied a 49-22-1 overall record, including 5-3 in the postseason. He was named NFL Coach of the Year in 2011 after inheriting a franchise planning to rebuild. In 2012, he lead San Francisco to the Super Bowl where the 49ers fell to his brother John’s Baltimore Ravens by a slim 34-31 marginStill, San Francisco kept it rolling in 2013 and reached the NFC Championship for a third-straight season, a feat never accomplished by a NFL coach in his first three seasons.
After surprisingly getting fired due to alleged tension with former 49ers brass, Harbaugh returned to his alma mater and has single handedly revitalized one of the most storied franchises in college football.
Overall, Harbaugh has guided the Wolverines to a 74-25 record and is 53-17 in Big Ten games. He has led U-M to five 10-win seasons and seven bowl games, including consecutive College Football Playoff Semifinal appearances (2021-22), two New Year’s Six bowls and three additional New Year’s Day bowl games. His teams have finished the season ranked in the national polls on six occasions, including three finishes in the top 10.
Michigan is in a prime position to make a run at college football’s ultimate prize this year, and if the Wolverines win it all — and possibly if they don’t — Harbaugh will be one of the most attractive coaching candidates for NFL owners seeking someone to ignite their franchise.
So while the price tag for a big-name like Harbaugh would cost far more than a deal they would strike with Bieniemy, the Michigan coach may just make his return to the NFL for the right situation, dollar figure, contract structure and franchise.
Washington Appealing Without Snyder?
One important note, particularly with a big-name like Harbaugh, is the absence of Snyder, paired with several other key factors that morphed D.C. into a place top coaches, GMS and players wouldn’t consider under the former owners’ awful regime to an appealing destination.
Grant Paulsen, from the afternoon show on 106.7 The Fan, chimed in on this exact subject in the afternoon slot on Nov. 28.
Paulsen mentioned the reignited fan base and massive bolster in ticket sales this season, a seasoned sports-minded ownership group that includes NBA legend Magic Johnson, a new stadium in the works and if Sam Howell continues to play well, a franchise that could have it’s starting QB locked down.
The DC radio host then added the icing on the cake for a GM or coach interviewing in Washington.
“But really most importantly it’s $90 million in cap space,” Paulsen continued. “It’s a top 10 pick most likely. It’s three picks in in the top 40 thanks to the trade they gave up with Montez Sweat. And it’s a full allotment of picks, including five in the first three rounds. This is a good gig, the best it’s been in my entire life and in a long long time probably before that.”
There will be predictions and speculation until a move is made, but change is coming in Washington and it’s hard to rule out both Harbaugh and Bieniemy has potential coaching options — along with others that make sense — for 2024.
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DC Sports Radio Show: Harbaugh or Bieniemy as Commanders Next Coach?