The 5 best offensive coordinators in the history of the Kansas City Chiefs

How much does an offensive coordinator really do? How much credit do they deserve for success? How much blame should they take for a downturn? It can be hard to say when NFL franchises feature such extensive leadership structures and coaching trees.

Whne making a list of the greatest offensive coordinators in Kansas City Chiefs history, it can be difficult to know how much to attribute to each candidate. For example, in this present era, how much is Andy Reid responsible for the offensive fireworks on display most weeks? How much should we credit his subordinates? It's impossible to say for sure, especially for those of us outside of Arrowhead.

What we do have are stats and a lingering body of work that shows how that team's units are measured against the rest of the league. While we acknowledge there are myriad layers to any success or failure here, we also have to point to the man in charge and at least offer a tip of the hat.

Criteria for selection

As we attempt to stack up the best offensive coordinators in Kansas City Chiefs history, we took a look at the rankings for coordinators in terms of yardage and points and how those totals measured up to the rest of the league. We also looked at key personnel to see how much talent each one was working with and what they accomplished upon their arrival.

In every scenario, however, it was still impossible to completely divorce a coordinator from his surrounding staff.

The 5 best offensive coordinators in Chiefs history

5. Doug Pederson

The Andy Reid coaching tree starts contributing early on our list of the team's best offensive coordinators with the arrival of Doug Pederson.

Pederson arrived in K.C. with Reid as his primary offensive assistant as he was learning the ropes of the franchise, and it's impossible to state just how stark the difference was from the beginning. Remember, Chiefs fans were paying out of pocket to fly banners over Arrowhead on Sundays to"save" the team while watching a miserable two-win squad bottom out once again.

The arrival of Pederson (and Reid, of course) elevated the entire culture of the franchise and made the Chiefs annual playoff contenders. Alex Smith and the team's offense were consistently putting points on the board, and the coaching staff helped Eric Fisher grow into his long-term role as left tackle after drafting him first overall.

It can be hard to separate Reid from his minions, but you can't ignore rankings of fourth, ninth, and sixth in total points scored under Pederson.

4. Matt Nagy

Rinse, repeat.

Matt Nagy is the current offensive coordinator for the Chiefs, and it looks like he could occupy this position for the long-term as Andy Reid coaches the remaining years on his shiny new extension. That's not a bad thing.

Nagy was a hot head coaching prospect due to his work with Reid and the Chiefs offense. It didn't hurt to have Chiefs players being vocal in their appreciation for him and his creativity. Ultimately the Chicago Bears bit the hook and signed Nagy away after a single season as the team's O.C.

Sorry to say, but Nagy didn't last as long as he would have hoped in the Windy City and was fired after four seasons. But the Chiefs were fifth in yards and sixth in points during that 2017 season before he left for Chicago.

Last year, the offense struggled, but the wide receiver room was a mess, Travis Kelce was injured for part of the year, and penalties killed the team again and again. There's good reason to believe Nagy is going to enjoy a much more fruitful season in 2024.

3. Paul Hackett

Oh, were these fun years to watch the Chiefs offense.

After the decade or more of mediocrity that defined Chiefs football in the '80s, the '90s brought a resurgence of national interest in the team with the hiring of Marty Schottenheimer as head coach. Schotty installed Paul Hackett as his offensive coordinator in 1993, and the Chiefs finished in the top 10 in overall points scored in four of his five seasons with the team.

Hackett's work with Elvis Grbac and Rich Gannon during his final season in '97 led to the team's best offense during his tenure. It finished second in points scored and 10th in yards. From there, Hackett headed back to USC, where he was once a positional coach, to become the Trojans head coach, concluding a search to replace John Robinson.

2. Eric Bieniemy

A legendary head coach can muddy the waters when trying to get a clear reflection of things, and that's certainly the case with Eric Bieniemy. Just like it feels impossible to gauge the coaching readiness of Bill Belichick's assistants looking back, the same sentiment carries over to Eric Bieniemy, who spent 10 seasons with the Chiefs during their most successful era and still struggled to find a job.

What we do know is that the Chiefs offense rose to historic levels when Bieniemy was the offensive coordinator. During three of his five seasons, Kansas City ranked first in total offensive yards. It was never lower than sixth in points scored through those five seasons.

Last year, Bieniemy switched to Washington to broaden his resume and try to escape Reid's shadow, but the circumstances were miserable and the results weren't pretty. Maybe that should tell us something, but we're not going to give credit to the down years and discredit the good. Bieniemy's body of work is solid, and he's landed at No. 2 on our list.

1. Al Saunders

It's rare to find assistant coaches or coordinators inducted into the Chiefs Ring of Honor, but we have to admit we're a bit surprised to see Al Saunders on the outside looking in here considering everything he meant to the franchise for long stretches at a time.

Saunders is a coaching legend whose various stops carried him from 1983 to 2018, including two lengthy stints in Kansas City. First, he arrived as the assistant head coach under Marty Schottenheimer while simultaneously coaching the team's wide receivers from 1989-98. When Schottenheimer resigned, Saunders went across the state to join Dick Vermeil with the Rams for a couple of seasons.

Imagine the surprise of Chiefs Kingdom, then, when Vermeil was coaxed out of retirement to join the Chiefs as head coach and brought along a familiar face to be his offensive coordinator. From 2001 to 2005, the Chiefs offense was the toast of the entire NFL under Saunders' supervision, and it set numerous records, both at a league and team level.

No team could move the chains like those early-aughts Chiefs, and Saunders' offenses never finished lower than fifth in total yards. It's a span of time that included Priest Holmes' resurgence, Larry Johnson's dominance, Tony Gonzalez's consistency, Trent Green's accuracy, Andre Rison's comeback, and much more. For fans, it was an exhilarating time to root for the Chiefs, and Arrowhead hadn't felt that alive since at least 10 years prior—when Saunders happened to be around as well.

Saunders was innovative and inspiring and was a master at getting the most out of his players. For those reasons, he sits at No. 1.