Matt Nagy has the attention of NFL teams. Whether or not Kansas City Chiefs fans would have expected such a strong response, there's no denying that Nagy is among the handful of head coaching candidates earning numerous interviews during a busy hiring/firing season.
At the present time, Nagy has interviews scheduled with the Tennessee Titans, Las Vegas Raiders, and Arizona Cardinals. The Baltimore Ravens were the latest team to inquire about Nagy as a potential replacement for John Harbaugh and an interview is scheduled for Sunday. Other than recently fired head coach like Harbaugh or Kevin Stefanski, it's hard to find another candidate getting more traction in the market.
Nagy has been linked to the Titans for months, so it wasn't surprising when the team made an official request to interview him. Tennessee's general manager and ultimate decision-maker on a new head coach is Mike Borgonzi, a friendly face for Nagy who spent several years in K.C.'s front office.
The public perception of Matt Nagy versus how NFL decision-makers view him is an interesting contrast.
From there, however, the respect shown to Nagy has provided an interesting and necessary shift in the narrative. For months (years?), Nagy has taken plenty of criticism for the Chiefs' offensive frustrations. Players that aren't developed (or even used). Play calls that feel stale and predictable. Adjustment concerns that have placed extraordinary demands on Patrick Mahomes to work his magic.
As the offensive coordinator, Nagy began the whipping post despite being part of a blurrier and larger system. Fair or not, Nagy's reputation has taken a hit in the last several months as the Chiefs offense slipped to No. 22 overall in points scored while also falling in the standings to an abysmal 6-11 record.
A season-ending press conference in Nashville brought the point home to Borgonzi. When asked about the hiring process and the already-known interview scheduled with Nagy, a reporter asked the following:
"Perception of Matt Nagy is that he was not a good coach in Chicago. And there's a little public perception that he's at fault for Kansas City's regression as an offense this past year. But that's the public perception, you know, Matt Nagy. So when looking at that, how much do you factor in what you know about a particular candidate's ability to coach compared to the public perception or what the fans' perception might be?"
It's a striking inquiry, one that illustrates just how quickly that narrative has been swallowed. Somehow the commonly-held view of Nagy is that he's the primary party responsible for K.C.'s offensive descent, yet when introduced to the open market, half of the league's franchises come calling for interviews.
Nagy is certainly to blame, at least partially, for what has gone down in Kansas City. But it appears that front offices and owners around the NFL aren't buying it. The perception difference wil make things interesting for a team that picks him as head coach, knowing they'll have to do some convincing of the fan base.