Chiefs coaching shuffle brings opportunity
By Ryan Tracy
Not a lot is going to change for Alex Smith right away in 2017. The voice and his head will continue to be now offensive coordinator Matt Nagy.
Has been calling the plays into Smith over the last year headset on the sidelines for the Chiefs offense. That working relationship will continue to be the basis for Smith’s approach to moving the ball.
In 2016, the offense was coordinated with input from Nagy as well as Brad Childress. Andy Reid continues to call the offense with input from Childress in the box and through Nagy to Smith’s headset. That set up led to multiple conversations between the three coaches in determining the playcall. In 2017, these changes give the team a chance to streamline the offensive play-calling.
With Childress moving to the assistant head coach role, the game planning phase of each we should remain the same with the three coaches together developing the offensive game plan against that week’s opponent. The expectation for the system head coach to take on a portion of the weekly administration of the team as a whole will likely lead to needy having a bigger voice in that planning. Childress and Andy Reid has coached together long enough that their approaches intersect. Nagy has an opportunity to bring more his perspective to the offense in 2017 thanks to this new position.
The big question will be whether or not Nagy will remain on the sidelines on game days. If Nagy moves into the booth and is able to get a higher perspective from above, he may be better suited to bring a less predictable rhythm to calling the offense. As he grows into the role, the Chiefs can benefit from Nagy’s influence growing on Reid.
Although Andy Reid will continue to call the offense, a new perspective from the box can widen the scope of this offense. That will make it more dangerous in 2017.
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