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Report: Matt Nagy ‘In the Mix’ for Head Coaching Jobs Next Season
Could Kansas City Chiefs offensive coordinator Matt Nagy leave KC for another chance at a head coaching job this offseason? A new story reports that Nagy’s name is already being discussed in NFL circles for the 2025 hiring cycle.
As written by Jonathan Jones for CBS Sports in a story published on Friday morning, Nagy could get his chance at “redemption” in a few months.
“Coaching agents and executives queried by CBS Sports in recent weeks have said former Bears head coach and current Chiefs offensive coordinator Matt Nagy should be in the mix for a head coach job this upcoming cycle, where there could be between six and 10 openings across the NFL,” Jones wrote. “Sandwiched between two stints in Kansas City as offensive coordinator was a four-year stop in Chicago as head coach, where he took the Bears to two playoff appearances — their only postseason appearances since 2011.”
Jones notes that Nagy’s work in Chicago has aged well as the organization has struggled to find its footing post-Nagy, while Chiefs head coach Andy Reid told CBS Sports more about what Nagy does for Kansas City’s offense.
“He does everything,” Reid said to CBS Sports. “He sets up the offense. He coordinates the offense is what he does. And he’s so creative. I knew that when he was a quarterbacks coach, and I saw it when he was a coordinator, and then you saw it in Chicago as their head coach. And then he comes back here, and I want the best out of the guys. So with him you just cut him loose and let him go.”
While Nagy’s version of the Chiefs’ offense (which is, in fairness, always Reid’s offense) has been up-and-down since returning to KC, Nagy is in a prime position for another chance to be a team’s next head coach.
Two of Reid’s three offensive coordinators in Kansas City, Doug Pederson (2013-15) and Nagy (2016-17) took head coaching jobs after spending time as KC’s OC. Despite many public endorsements from Reid, Eric Bieniemy (running backs coach from 2013-17 and offensive coordinator from 2018-22) is the exception who never received a head coaching job. After five years as the Chiefs’ OC, Bieniemy left to be the offensive coordinator and assistant head coach for the Washington Commanders before the staff was let go after the 2023 campaign. Now, Bieniemy is in his first year as assistant head coach and offensive coordinator of UCLA football.
Jones noted Bieniemy’s journey alongside the fact that decorated defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo hasn’t gotten another look as a head coaching candidate in quite some time.
“Half of the NFL interviewed Bieniemy for a head job and he never got one, and now he’s the offensive coordinator at UCLA,” Jones wrote. “Current defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo has had a top five defense the last two years and is the only coordinator in NFL history to win a Super Bowl with two different franchises, but he hasn’t gotten a head coach interview lately. And on the personnel side, only Ryan Poles has been plucked out of Kansas City to be a general manager elsewhere.”
Reid told CBS Sports what Nagy and Spagnuolo bring to his coaching staff as a pair of coordinators who have head coaching experience.
“He’s great for me. Invaluable for me, because he’s been a head coach,” Reid said. “So he understands that and not a lot of people have sat in that seat. Not a lot of assistants have sat in that seat. I’m fortunate to have him and Spags for that matter. They’ve both been head coaches and they just kind of get it.
“There’s more to it than just calling plays and drawing up plays. It’s making sure that you’re keeping track of all the players and their lives and everything else on and off the field. And he gets that.”