Andy Reid is overseeing a series of major changes to his coaching staff this offseason, which is to be expected when a team wins only six games in a given season. The fall was steep for the Kansas City Chiefs in 2025 after starting the year as Super Bowl favorites, and Reid is now taking steps to right the ship from an organizational perspective going forward.
Part of those changes has come at offensive coordinator where Matt Nagy has been replaced after three years in the post. Eric Bieniemy is now employed in the same role after serving as the Chicago Bears running backs coach for the last year. For Bieniemy, it's a return to a familiar space, considering he was the man Nagy replaced before the 2023 season.
Lest anyone thinks this is a case of the Chiefs kicking someone to the curb following a frustrating year, however, the team's head coach wants to correct that narrative. Reid called the move a "win-win" for both sides as Bieniemy joins the team and Nagy leaves the nest to find new opportunities elsewhere.
Reid spoke to reporters on Monday, his first media session since some of the bigger staffing changes were announced, and addressed Nagy's status as an outgoing leader following a four-year stint in K.C. (this time around).
"This gives Matt an opportunity to go out and run his show there and do what he does best, taking two Super Bowl championships with him and three Super Bowl appearances—a top 10 offense he was working with this past year. He’ll go out and be able to put his own mark on things, and that takes my name of it, and he gets the purity of it."
The problems for both Bieniemy and Nagy in the last decade has been the inability to earn head coaching opportunities while attached to Reid and the Chiefs. It's hard for anyone to make his mark in a notable way when working within an offense that also has a legendary head coach and a Hall of Fame quarterback. It's why Bieniemy left to work with Ron Rivera in 2023 with the Washington Commanders as OC after years of head coaching interviews that never developed into a job offer.
Andy Reid spoke with reporters on Monday about the team's recent coaching changes and the arrival of Eric Bieniemy for another stint.
Nagy has drawn reported interest from four of the teams with head coaching openings this offseason, but three of those have already been filled. The Las Vegas Raiders is the only one currently open with Nagy's name attached, but other candidates are considered favorites, which likely leaves Nagy waiting for an offensive coordinator opening instead, the same sort of lateral move that Bieniemy ended up making.
"I was hoping that’d be a head coaching position and it still might be that. He deserves that, definitely for sure. If that doesn’t work, it gives him an opportunity to step in as a coordinator and run his show from there," said Reid.
Nagy has already talked with the Philadelphia Eagles about their post, and he's likely to take more interviews as the dust settles on head coaching opportunities. Nagy has four years of experience as a head coach with the Chicago Bears as well as the championship experience referred to by Reid with the Chiefs. That will undoubtedly take him somewhere new, even if it's not a fulfillment of the initial goals he had at the start of the offseason.
Reid also had very good things to say about his new right-hand man on Monday. "It’s good to get him back in the building. I think we all know the energy that Eric brings and what he gives to a football team. He’s coming off a heckuva season with the Chicago Bears. My hat goes off to the Bears and the great job that they did there ... We’re glad that EB was able to come back in and jump into that position and bring all the knowledge that he has likewise to the table."
As for perceptions that maybe star quarterback Patrick Mahomes was happy to see the change, Reid spoke directly to the spin that could happen to frame Nagy's exit in a negative light. "You guys can take this whole thing a couple of different ways, so I want to make sure we’re saying this right: Patrick loved Nags, and he also loves EB. So this isn’t an ‘either/or’ deal. This isn’t one guy having to replace another guy. That’s not what this is about. I want to make sure Nags gets his shout-out here, too, and that EB gets his coming in here.”
A bit later in the media session, Reid further emphasized his point. “Somebody’s missing a gem here. That’s how I feel. I would love to see him get picked up and going. At the same time, we got back a gem. So it has a chance to be a win-win here when everything is said and done.”
As the Chiefs make changes at coordinator, Reid was keen to impress his respect and appreciation for those coming and going. It'll be interesting to see where Nagy lands, and to eventually hear if it was indeed a "win-win" for everyone on the other side.