KC Chiefs: Matt Nagy appears to be head coach-in-waiting

After Kansas City Chiefs offensive coordinator Eric Bieniemy made the move to the Washington Commanders as their new offensive coordinator on Friday, it’s expected that quarterbacks coach Matt Nagy will step in as the new offensive coordinator—a role he also held in 2017.

Nagy rejoined the Kansas City staff as quarterbacks coach for the 2022-2023 season after being fired as Chicago Bears head coach.

Now, it won’t just be a cut-and-dry process of promoting Nagy to offensive coordinator. The Chiefs will have to fulfill the Rooney rule by interviewing at least one minority candidate for the position, but the overall expectation is that Nagy will get the job.

Matt Nagy could be the next Head Coach for KC Chiefs

While Nagy being in line for the offensive coordinator job isn’t surprising, the more intriguing idea from Aaron Wilson’s report is that the long-term plan is for Nagy to eventually replace Andy Reid as Chiefs head coach in the next few years. This was likely something that was planned once Nagy returned to the Chiefs.

It’s sad to think that we could be nearing the end of the Andy Reid era in Kansas City sooner than really any of us thought, but Nagy essentially being the head coach-in-waiting isn’t a bad strategy as he operates under Andy Reid for a few years.

A lot of people may be sour on the idea of Nagy as head coach after his Chicago tenure, at least Bears fans. The fact of the matter is that Nagy made the playoffs twice with Mitch Trubisky at quarterback and won NFL Coach of The Year. More blame should probably be put on the quarterback play than just Nagy’s coaching. Even first-year head coach for the Bears, Matt Eberflus, has his team picking No. 1 overall in this year’s draft. The roster and quarterback situation there just isn’t great.

Nonetheless, Nagy has a strong relationship with Patrick Mahomes stemming from his time as offensive coordinator in 2017 when Mahomes was a rookie. Heck, Nagy even slipped Patrick Mahomes some of the Chiefs’ playbook concepts during the draft process to improve his chances of being selected by the Chiefs. One can assume that their bond has grown even stronger after Nagy spent the year as Mahomes’ quarterbacks coach and Mahomes had arguably the best year of his career winning both Super Bowl LVII and NFL MVP.

In the end, if Nagy is what Mahomes wants once Reid is done, can anyone really be upset with that? Nagy at that point will have been in the organization for several years and would have a great understanding of what the Chiefs did with Reid.

A lot can happen in three years, but there’s a very real chance Nagy is the next head coach for Kansas City. It’s possible he could get lured away for another head coach opportunity elsewhere before this plan comes to fruition, but Nagy would probably be smart to wait patiently and take over the reins in Kansas City where he’ll have a ready-made situation with Mahomes at quarterback.

It will be interesting to see how things play out. If Reid decides to keep coaching for a long time then none of this will matter, but the fact that it’s been reported by a reputable source that Nagy would be taking over for Reid probably means we should be paying close attention.