The NFL coaching options for current Kansas City Chiefs offensive coordinator Matt Nagy have suddenly narrowed after two key coaching dominoes fell into place on Monday.
Nagy’s split with Kansas City has felt inevitable since the end of the season, but it was all but confirmed after reports emerged that the Chiefs plan to hire their former OC, Eric Bieniemy, to return to the role for 2026. But more breaking news on Monday night indicated Nagy has missed out on what seemed to be his most likely coaching gig next season: becoming the head coach of the Tennessee Titans.
Nagy took part in two interviews with the Titans, including a second meeting on Monday. But multiple NFL insiders reported later that same evening that the Titans plan to hire former New York Jets head coach and current San Francisco 49ers defensive coordinator Robert Saleh instead.
Nagy first served as Kansas City’s offensive coordinator for the 2017 season before becoming the head coach of the Chicago Bears in 2018. The Bears won the NFC North for the first time in eight years in Nagy’s debut season, and he was named AP NFL Coach of the Year.
But Nagy and Chicago struggled to replicate that early success. The Bears failed to post another winning season under Nagy, and he was fired after a 6–11 campaign in 2021. He went 34–31 (.523) overall and 0–2 in the playoffs. Saleh, meanwhile, went 20–36 (.357) in three seasons with the Jets and failed to reach the playoffs.
Tennessee’s decision will no doubt be a blow to Nagy, who was considered the favorite by both betting companies and some NFL analysts to become the new head coach in Nashville. Dianna Russini of The Athletic had linked Nagy to Tennessee for months, and just last week, ESPN’s Dan Graziano predicted the Titans would give Nagy the reins.
Matt Nagy’s head-coaching window is closing fast after Tennessee went another direction
So, what happens now? Tennessee was Nagy’s most likely destination, and a return to Kansas City—while improbable—wasn’t entirely out of the picture either. But with those roles off the table, what’s next for Nagy? Could the coaching carousel have already spun past him?
The 47-year-old interviewed with the Baltimore Ravens for their vacancy a fortnight ago, but he is considered an outside chance to land the job. One sportsbook (Betfair) is giving Nagy the same odds as Bill Belichick to become Baltimore’s next head coach.
Besides Baltimore and Tennessee, there has been very little noise linking Nagy to any other NFL vacancies, despite seven other jobs still officially available as of Tuesday morning. Nagy has connections with the Las Vegas Raiders and Arizona Cardinals, but neither team has publicly said it conducted an interview with him. He is not currently considered to be in the mix for the Pittsburgh Steelers, Cleveland Browns, Buffalo Bills, or Miami Dolphins openings, either.
That means Nagy could be forced to follow the same path as the coach who is about to replace him for the second time—Bieniemy himself. Bieniemy took over Kansas City’s OC job when Nagy left for Chicago in 2018. After trying and failing to transition from KC’s offensive coordinator to an NFL head coach, Bieniemy became the offensive shot-caller in Washington before shifting to UCLA a season later. He spent one year with the Bears as their running backs coach and is now set to return to the Chiefs.
Maybe a similar move is in the cards for Nagy, too. Although he missed out on being the head coach in Tennessee, he could potentially still land there as an offensive counterpart for a defensive coach in Saleh, a “head coach of the offense” kind of role.
Nagy’s future is uncertain. But it is clear he won’t be back in Kansas City, and he won’t be the head coach of the Tennessee Titans.