Matt Nagy Promoted To Chiefs Offensive Coordinator

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Right about a week after the departure of former offensive coordinator Eric Bieniemy, the Kansas City Chiefs have filled that vacancy. Matt Nagy, a longtime Andy Reid assistant, will assume offensive coordinator duties. During this past season, Nagy returned to the Kansas City Chiefs. His role was senior assistant and quarterback coach.

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This move was largely expected, once Bieniemy officially departed. Overall, Kansas City has had to make a few promotions for the offensive coordinator spot under Coach Reid. This is actually the second time in which Matt Nagy gets that promotion. In fact, Nagy was the Chiefs offensive coordinator for 2016 and 2017. That was a promotion that he received after Doug Pederson became Philadelphia Eagles head coach, following Pederson’s three years as Chiefs offensive coordinator (2013-15).

All told, there is plenty of continuity and familiarity here with this promotion of Matt Nagy. It was not too long ago that he was Chicago Bears head coach. But, Nagy has already had major fingerprints on the Kansas City offense over parts of the last decade.

Back In The Saddle

As mentioned above, this will be the second time in which Matt Nagy will hold the title of offensive coordinator for the Kansas City Chiefs. He spent the prior three seasons as Chiefs quarterback coach before that original promotion to OC. In those two earlier seasons in that position, Nagy was in direct communication with quarterback Alex Smith. Smith was always labeled as a game manager. Though, that was not always a bad thing for the momentum that the Chiefs were building as a franchise.

In 2017, Smith had one of his best career seasons, finishing the season strong and leading the league in passer rating (104.7). His 26 touchdown passes and 4,042 passing yards were a single-season career high.

After those two seasons as offensive coordinator, and five total seasons on the Chiefs coaching staff, Matt Nagy would leave Kansas City. He spent four seasons as the head coach of the Chicago Bears from 2018 to 2021. It obviously ended tumultuously in the Windy City. However, you could argue that Nagy did not deserve all of the blame for the struggles of Chicago. He actually led the Bears to two playoff appearances in his four years, while finishing with a 34-33 record in Chicago, including playoffs. In the end, Matt Nagy returned to Kansas City for 2022, holding the aforementioned senior assistant and quarterback coach roles.

Rapport With Patrick Mahomes

Matt Nagy was still in Kansas City for Patrick Mahomes‘ rookie season in the league. But, this past season was the first time Nagy had been on the Chiefs coaching staff when Mahomes was the starter. From offseason work on, it was evident that the two had great rapport. Matt Nagy and Patrick Mahomes always seemed to have calm discussions on the sideline during games, no matter the situation. It was also fascinating to hear them mic’d up with each other during training camp.

Despite his tough finish as a head coach, it seems like Matt Nagy has the nonstop, thinking mind that Patrick Mahomes does. The ability to have that relationship is major for any organization. But for the Chiefs, it is a crucial building block in continuing their growth, now as defending Super Bowl champions for the second time.

Who Becomes Chiefs Quarterback Coach?

With Matt Nagy getting a promotion, it will eventually lead to a new opportunity for someone at quarterback coach. Dave Girardi is an in-house name that many have thought will assume the role of quarterback coach. If so, it would be a promotion for Girardi from pass game analyst/assistant quarterback coach, a role he has held for the last two seasons in KC. Before that, Girardi served as an offensive quality control coach for three seasons with the Chiefs.

I’m told the #Chiefs have explored the possibility of adding Pep Hamilton to their staff, per league sources. Hamilton served as the #Texans offensive coordinator in 2022. The carousel is fluid, with a lot of moving parts still up in the air. We’ll see how it goes.

— JosinaAnderson (@JosinaAnderson) February 23, 2023

Elsewhere, there was a report from Josina Anderson that mentioned Pep Hamilton as a possible name to join the Chiefs coaching staff. Hamilton has been both a quarterback coach and an offensive coordinator in the past. Most recently, Hamilton served as the offensive coordinator of the Houston Texans in 2022. His past success even afforded him some requests for head coaching interviews over the years. His mind and energy would also be a great complement to the Kansas City staff.

Be on the lookout for more FPC Chiefs articles and analysis throughout this offseason. For more great sports and NFL content, stay tuned to Full Press Coverage.

– Braden Holecek is the Kansas City Chiefs managing editor for Full Press Coverage. He covers the NFL. Like and follow on Follow @ebearcat9//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js Follow @FPC_Chiefs//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js and Facebook.