Chiefs rumors: KC coordinator could get second chance to be NFL head coach

Given the way that other NFL franchises have avoided hiring anyone away from the Kansas City Chiefs in recent years, one might think the team was sitting annually in the AFC West basement, unable to string together winning seasons or any modicum of success.

For various reasons, the NFL has allowed the Chiefs to enjoy unprecedented continuity among its leaders without ever really deciding to poach anyone from the coaching staff or front office. In doing so (or not doing so, actually), the Chiefs have been able to dial in their coaching chemistry more than ever.

Being able to stay together as a coaching staff has been huge for the Chiefs in recent years. Some players have to learn a new system every year as teams flip one coordinator for another hoping to strike lightning in a bottle. Meanwhile, a leader like Steve Spagnuollo can learn his players inside and out as a coordinator employed since 2019.

The coaching continuity of the Kansas City Chiefs has been a key component for the team’s sustained success.
Even this week, Steve Spagnuolo spoke with the media about the defense’s success and mentioned, “The continuity of having a lot of the same people together, from myself to assistant coaches. I think that’s huge. I think that goes unnoticed, but I think that’s as important as anything.”

One new rumor floating around NFL circles, however, is set to potentially shake things up for the Chiefs after this season with the word that offensive coordinator Matt Nagy might be on the way out. Some teams are reportedly interested in checking out Nagy as a head coach once again in the NFL.

Nagy led the Chicago Bears for four seasons from 2018 to 2021 and made the playoffs twice in that span. The Bears hired Nagy away from the Chiefs when he was their offensive coordinator the first time around. In 2022, he returned as quarterbacks coach and moved up to OC when Eric Bieniemy left for a position at UCLA

Nagy had few supporters in Chicago, but he did leave with a winning record (34-31) and his primary quarterback was Mitchell Trubisky. That’s enough of an excuse to erase some of the ill will earned from Bears fans, although it would be interesting to see which teams might want to pursue talks with Nagy further and who else is on the table.

For his part, Andy Reid spoke with CBS Sports this week, praising the job that Nagy has done with Kansas City. “”He does everything. 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.”

Reid’s backing, the experience of being a head coach already, the winning record with limited talent, and his tenure in Kansas City during a historic run at a three-peat should be enough to get Matt Nagy some interviews this winter. Whether it will hook a team or not is another matter.