Getty Arrowhead Stadium, where Armani Watts played for the last four seasons.
When the season ends for the Kansas City Chiefs, they will begin the offseason with one less coach on their staff, guaranteed.
Chiefs linebackers coach Matt House has been named the defensive coordinator for the LSU Tigers, according to the program on Tuesday, December 28.
Matt House, a coach with a Super Bowl championship on his resume, has been named the Tigers’ defensive coordinator.
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House is in his third season as Kansas City’s linebackers coach. Prior to his time with the Chiefs, he spent three seasons at the University of Kentucky, starting as a special teams coordinator/inside linebackers coach before becoming the defensive coordinator for his final two seasons with the program. In 2018, his defense was sixth in the nation in points allowed per game, according to the LSU website. That season, the Wildcats defense help opponents to 14 points or less six times.
“Matt checks every box we’re looking for in a defensive coordinator,” LSU head coach Brian Kelly said in a press release. “He’s led elite SEC defenses, recruited and developed all-conference and All-American performers at multiple positions, and garnered ample experience in both the NFL and as a coordinator at multiple collegiate stops.
”He possesses a great understanding of how to defend the type of offenses we will face each week in our conference, and his ability to put players in position to make plays aligns perfectly with the identity that we want to develop with our defense. I’m excited that he’s joining our staff as we work toward building a championship program at LSU.”
Andy Reid on House’s Departure
A day after the news broke of House’s new job, Chiefs head coach Andy Reid congratulated House and his family in front of the media.
“Congratulations to Matt and his family, they’ve been honored to go to LSU as the defensive coordinator there,” Reid said during his opening statement on Wednesday, December 29. “It will be tremendous for Coach Kelly, it’ll be tremendous for the Tigers—we’ve got a bunch of them on our team, so they’re excited for him. However, he will stay here throughout the season. I know there were some questions on that, and he will remain with us throughout.”
Andy Reid opens his news conference today by honoring John Madden & congratulates linebackers assistant Matt House on being named LSU’s new defensive coordinator.
Reid on Eric Bieniemy: ‘He’s Tremendous’
With teams clearly out of the playoff hunt beginning to plan for 2022, head coach firings have already begun taking place, and interviews for those vacancies are starting to be scheduled.
With Chiefs sitting at 11-4 and with both the offense and defense playing at high levels, one can bet that some of Kansas City’s coaches will be interviewing for head coach positions for 2022. Despite that potentially happening, Chiefs head coach Andy Reid is happy for any members of his staff that may get an opportunity to be a head coach in the NFL.
“I’m sure I’ll hear from people on that—Eric Bieniemy, Spags (Steve Spagnuolo) has been a head coach and could easily jump in somewhere too,” Reid said. “I’ve hammered the point about Eric Bieniemy. I just think the world of the guy, and he’s tremendous. I would imagine there are other guys on the staff, so whatever happens, happens there, but I’m always pulling for guys. If they have an opportunity to be promoted, more power to them.”
The Jacksonville Jaguars, who fired Urban Meyer on December 16, have rounded up the list of candidates they want to interview for their head coaching vacancy. However, none of them are Chiefs coaches.
With two games remaining in the regular season, Kansas City has not only locked up the division but also remains in first place in the AFC. That means they will have a bye week at the beginning of the postseason if they remain in this spot.
In Week 17, Kansas City travels to face the Bengals, who are coming off a 41-21 win over the Baltimore Ravens in which second-year quarterback Joe Burrow threw for 525 yards and four touchdowns.
Joe Burrow has 525 passing yards 😳
📺: #BALvsCIN on CBS
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The Bengals, who currently sit at 9-6 on the season, are hungry to finish the season strong so they can cement themselves in the AFC playoff picture. That’s why the Chiefs need to carry their efforts against the Steelers into this next game if they want to come out with a ninth straight victory.