The axe was going to fall. After a 6-11 season that left the Kansas City Chiefs in third place in the AFC West and completely out of the postseason picture with three games left to play, head coach Andy Reid was bound to make some changes coming into a pivotal offseason where Reid's own seat could heat up if things don't improve in 2026.
The biggest change of all is likely going to happen at the coordinator level, but positional changes came almost immediately following the conclusion of the Chiefs' regular season. Both sides of the ball will see new faces in leadership coming into 2026.
Here are all of the Chiefs coaching changes so far and what they mean going forward.
Matt Nagy interviews for multiple head coaching openings (ongoing)
The Chiefs and offensive coordinator Matt Nagy seem destined for a divorce after four seasons back with the team. Nagy's contract is officially up, and he is currently interviewing with four teams for head coaching roles. The Tennessee Titans have been linked to Nagy for months to potentially replace Brian Callahan. The Baltimore Ravens, Arizona Cardinals, and Las Vegas Raiders also scheduled interviews with Nagy.
With Nagy's contract up, it makes sense that Reid will have a new offensive right hand coming into next year. It could mean the return of a familiar face (e.g., Mike Kafka or Eric Bieniemy) or an outside hire (e.g., Kliff Kingsbury), but new voices should help catalyze an offense that looked stale at key moments in 2025.
Steve Spagnuolo catches head coaching attention (ongoing)
Chiefs defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo could be headed toward a Hall of Fame career as the most decorated coordinator ever, but that hasn't stifled his ambitions to try a head coaching role one more time. The Tennessee Titans scheduled an interview, and rumored interest from the New York Giants was also reported. Spagnuolo hasn't been a head coach since the 2011 season, when he was fired after earning only 10 wins in three years with the St. Louis Rams.
It would be a considerable shock if Spagnuolo earns a head coaching look at this stage, given the lack of rumors at the current moment. That means it's likely that Spags returns for his eighth season as the team's DC.
Todd Pinkston let go (1/15)
Andy Reid brought Todd Pinkston onto his staff back in 2023 to serve as the team's running backs coach, giving him a familiar face on the staff under then-new offensive coordinator Matt Nagy. Pinkston played for Reid for five seasons with the Philadelphia Eagles. After retiring, Pinkston took to coaching at Austin Peay as the wide receivers coach for five years.
That the Chiefs made him RB coach was odd, considering he played wideout for seven NFL seasons. It made sense to potentially shift him elsewhere, but the team decided to move on completely. Now, the Chiefs' new RB coach will hopefully have more to work with than Pinkston did, considering K.C.'s running backs room has been talent-deficient for quite some time.
Connor Embree fired (1/8)
The first official change to the offensive staff came with the firing of wide receivers coach Connor Embree after five seasons with the team. Embree joined Reid's staff as a quality control coach and became the wide receivers coach in 2023. However, the failure to develop high-level investments like Rashee Rice and Xavier Worthy as hoped, along with the general offensive frustrations in recent seasons, made Embree's move an obvious one.
Even when the Chiefs were winning, fans wondered what exactly Embree had done to earn such an important positional coaching role, with no history at the position and little applicable coaching experience before being hired by the Chiefs. Whoever lands the WR coach role will enter the picture at an important juncture for player development for the Chiefs offense.
Louie Addazio joins college ranks (1/8)
One of the Chiefs' first coaching changes of the offseason was the departure of Louie Addazio from Steve Spagnuolo's staff. A defensive quality control coach for the last two years, Addazio found a new role as the offensive line coach at UNLV. Joining head coach Dan Mullen's staff is a return to the college ranks for Addazio, since he was an o-line analyst with Texas A&M before joining K.C.
Alex Whittingham joins his father (1/4)
The Chiefs watched Alex Whittingham leave their staff to take a role with his father, Kyle Whittingham, who was hired to be the new head football coach at the University of Michigan. After eight seasons with the Chiefs, Whittingham had moved his way into an assistant defensive line coach role next to Joe Cullen. However, he will now serve as linebackers coach for the Wolverines.