Monday was a bad day for Matt Nagy.
Despite interviewing as a finalist for the Tennessee Titans head coaching position, Nagy lost out on the role to fellow former NFL head coach Robert Saleh, who was named head coach late Monday night.
Yet, aside from that, the Kansas City Chiefs offensive coordinator was replaced in that role as well. The Chiefs reportedly intend to hire longtime former offensive coordinator, and Chicago Bears running-backs coach, Eric Bieniemy as their offensive coordinator.
Nagy, 47, has been Kansas City’s offensive coordinator for the past three seasons, in his second tour in KC, and helped guide the Chiefs to the Super Bowl twice in that span — including a championship in 2023. But after their 6-11 season, and Patrick Mahomes’ torn ACL, he is likely done coaching in KC.
Matt Nagy Missed Out On The Titans’ Head Coach Job
Nagy was considered the frontrunner for the Tennessee job for a multitude of reasons, aside from the obvious fact that the Titans announced him as one of the finalists Monday.
But Nagy also, of course, had a relationship with Titans general manager Mike Borgonzi, who had been in the Chiefs organization for 16 years until he took over in Nashville in 2024.
He is, of course, an offensive-minded head coach, who helped guide the Mitchell Trubisky-led Bears to the NFC North title in 2018 — which helped Nagy win Coach of the Year that season. Presumably, he could help budding second-year quarterback Cam Ward develop, the same way he helped Mahomes do so in his first term as Chiefs offensive coordinator.
Still, the opportunity to land Saleh, the San Francisco 49ers defensive coordinator who previously coached the New York Jets, seemed like too much for Borgonzi to pass on. Saleh is extremely well-thought of, and Chiefs fans, who watched their team face the Saleh-led 49ers in Super Bowl LIV, must know that Tennessee made a good hire.
Matt Nagy May Still End Up With The Titans
Bieniemy’s return to Kansas City leaves no viable path for Nagy to continue coaching under Andy Reid, unless he decides to take a demotion. Surely, he isn’t going to do that.
But Nagy still has that relationship with Borgonzi, and he could save face by taking over as the Titans offensive coordinator. If he chose that route, Nagy may be able to rebuild his reputation after it took a hit during KC’s 6-11 season in 2025 where the Chiefs finished 21st in points per game and Mahomes took a veiled shot at him on his way out the door.
“For me, I just want someone that loves football, that cares about football and wants to give everything that they can to win [and] to hold people accountable and bring new ideas every single day,” Mahomes told reporters last week. “I think that’s what we have to continue to do if you want to continue to be great in this league.”
Teams ought to be careful in hiring Nagy even as the offensive coordinator, particularly since Mahomes has regressed in Nagy’s second tour as OC. In those three seasons, Mahomes has averaged fewer than 3,900 yards per year and a 25/12 touchdown-to-interception rate and a passer rating of just 92.0.
Matt Nagy Gets Bad News on Head Coach Job Hours After Chiefs Replace Him at OC