Kansas City Chiefs name former Bears coach Nagy offensive coordinator
Matt Nagy has come full circle.
The Kansas City Chiefs promoted the former Bears head coach to offensive coordinator on Friday. For Nagy, it's a return to a role he held for two seasons prior to becoming a head coach in Chicago in 2018. Nagy led the Chiefs' offense from 2016-17, during the final years with Alex Smith at quarterback.
A year after the Bears fired him, Nagy is once again just one step below head coach for an NFL franchise.
The position opened up because former Chiefs offensive coordinator Eric Bieniemy left to take the same role for the Washington Commanders.
Bieniemy had been the Chiefs' offensive coordinator since Nagy left to join the Bears prior to the 2018 season. Bieniemy guided the Chiefs' offense to two Super Bowl titles and five consecutive AFC championship games, yet he has not been hired as a head coach.
Bieniemy's perceived lateral move is widely believed to be an effort to escape the shadow of Chiefs' head coach Andy Reid and quarterback Patrick Mahomes. Per USA Today, Bieniemy - who is Black - has interviewed for head coaching jobs with at least 15 different franchises over the past few years and still has not landed a head coaching job.
Meanwhile, both of the Eagles' white coordinators landed head coaching gigs days after losing the Super Bowl - defensive coordinator Jonathan Gannon to the Arizona Cardinals and offensive coordinator Shane Steichen to the Indianapolis Colts.
After the Bears fired Nagy last year, he returned to Kansas City as a senior assistant and quarterbacks coach, working closely with Mahomes.
The 44-year-old Nagy has been one of Reid's assistants for years. The two date back all the way to 2008, when Nagy served as a coaching intern with Reid's Eagles. Nagy coached the Bears for four seasons, amassing a 34-31 regular season record with two playoff appearances.
If Nagy wants to be a head coach again, serving as an offensive coordinator is the logical next step. He interviewed for the Tennessee Titans' offensive coordinator job a few weeks ago, but the Titans went with Tim Kelly, an internal hire.