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Just a day after re-signing offensive coordinator Eric Bieniemy on February 24, the Kansas City Chiefs also re-hired former Kansas City offensive coordinator and Chicago Bears head coach Matt Nagy as a senior assistant/quarterbacks coach.
The move to re-hire Nagy — who has a strong track record with the Chiefs despite an underwhelming four-year tenure in Chicago — rose questions as to what the future holds for him and Bieniemy in Kansas City now that he is back in the fold.
Head coach Andy Reid addressed the decision to bring Nagy back onto the coaching staff when he met with the media at the 2022 NFL Scouting Combine.
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“Yeah, I probably should add that in there. It’s great to have Matt (Nagy) back,” Reid said on March 1. “I thought it was important that continuity that we’ve had between Eric (Bieniemy), the quarterback coach, the offensive staff so I thought that was important. Matt was the logical answer to that if he wanted to do that. I didn’t know where he’d be at after being a head coach, but he was fired up to do it and Eric was fired up, so I was like ‘Let’s go.’ We’ll roll it in there and we’ll take it from there.”
Nagy’s Role With Chiefs Hints at Potential Growth
Nagy was the Chiefs quarterbacks coach from 2013 to 2015 and the team’s offensive coordinator in 2017 — the final season in which Alex Smith was the starting quarterback in Kansas City. During that season, Nagy schemed up an offense that ranked sixth in points scored and fifth in total yards, which was the first time since 2005 that the Chiefs ranked top 10 in both of those categories, according to Pro Football Reference.
His tenure as a coordinator lasted only one season, however, as Nagy would take the head coaching job with the Bears the following offseason.
But now he’s back with the Chiefs and it’s worth wondering: why?
Granted, Nagy wasn’t getting another head coach gig this offseason, otherwise, he would have been hired during the 2022 cycle. He instead had “several coaching opportunities with similar titles” along with the offer from the Chiefs, according to Pro Football Network’s Aaron Wilson. Out of the opportunities he had to choose from, Nagy chose Kansas City.
Based on his coaching accolades, it would make sense for Nagy to settle into a coordinator role in the near future. From that role, he could try to replicate the success he had in 2017, which could catapult him into another head coaching endeavor a few years down the road. That’s why joining a coaching staff this offseason that would allow for him to grow into a coordinator role in the near future would make sense for Nagy.
While the Chiefs don’t look like that type of opportunity for Nagy at the surface, it just might be the perfect spot for him if he wants to rebound after his first NFL head coaching stint.
Nagy Brings Fresh Mindset to Kansas City
At this point, Nagy’s coaching title doesn’t matter. Why? Because regardless of what his title is, Nagy will bring two things to the Chiefs’ coaching staff that is needed after and up and down 2021 season: a fresh mindset and some new ideas, which head coach Andy Reid knows is needed at this point in quarterback Patrick Mahomes’ career.
“We’re always striving to do better, but that’s kind of where we’re at,” Reid said. “I think with where Pat (Patrick Mahomes) is in his career, I think it’s important that it worked out that way. I’ve got guys on staff that could step in that could also do it. We always come up with new ideas so it’s not like we’re short on ideas.”
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