Can new Washington Commanders OC Eric Bieniemy unlock Sam Howell?
Ever since the Washington Commanders fired offensive coordinator (OC), Scott Turner, there had been speculation on who would replace him. There’s no more reason to speculate as the Commanders have agreed to a deal with their new OC, per John Keim of ESPN.
That’s right. Reigning Super Bowl Champion Eric Bieniemy has agreed to take the job as OC and assistant head coach. Considering Bieniemy had been the OC of the Kansas City Chiefs since the emergence of Patrick Mahomes, this is a welcome sight for Washington fans.
Not since Kyle Shanahan, have the Commanders had this talented of a coach calling plays for their quarterbacks. Now the question is can Bieniemy mold Sam Howell into the type of quarterback that can run his system, or will the Commanders need to go out for a quarterback who can?
Can Bieniemy mold Howell into a starting QB for the Washington Commanders?
In my last article, I stated that I believe Howell can be the future, so I think the combo of Howell and Bieniemy can work. However, let’s take a deeper dive into this. If Howell had more than one start under his belt, then comparing his stats to the league and Super Bowl MVP Mahomes might make sense. However, that’s not the case so let’s compare their college stats as Bieniemy is essentially getting a rookie in Howell.
Howell’s Stats:
- 10,283 yards (3 seasons)
- 92 TDs
- 23 INT
- 9.2 yards per attempt
- 63.8 completion rate
Mahomes’ Stats:
- 11,252 yards (3 seasons)
- 93 TD
- 29 INT
- 8.3 yards per attempt
- 63.5 completion rate
When comparing stats, there are some similarities between Mahomes and Howell in college. Mahomes had more total yards but that was based on more attempts, versus Howell having a higher yards per attempt average. Otherwise, the passing stats are nearly identical. Both quarterbacks were also threats as runners as well back in their college days.
This isn’t to say that Howell will become the next Patrick Mahomes. That’s highly unlikely, but based on the similarities that they had in college, he can become successful in Bieniemy’s system.
Bieniemy always made sure that Mahomes had easy reads to his top targets and with the three-headed monster that the Commanders have at the wide receiver position that should be the case for Howell as well. Like with Mahomes, Howell’s mobility will allow Bieniemy to be flexible with his playcalling early on. That should help a young QB like Howell develop at a steady rate.
With that in mind, there’s little doubt that the pairing of Bieniemy and Howell has the potential to be great, but only time will tell for the Washington Commanders.