Andy Reid on former Chiefs OC Matt Nagy: ‘Somebody’s missing a gem here’
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- Andy Reid praised Matt Nagy and positioned himself as a top reference.
- Nagy left after a 6-11 Chiefs season and pursued multiple NFL interviews.
- Reid framed Nagy as a deserving head coach candidate and coordinator option.
Last Friday, the Chiefs publicly bid farewell to Matt Nagy with a thank-you note on their X (formerly Twitter) account. A few hours later, through the same source, Nagy’s replacement Eric Bieniemy was welcomed back to his former role as offensive coordinator.
Where does that leave Nagy now?
He remains in the hunt for a new job, and Andy Reid became his top reference while speaking to reporters Monday.
“We had another great coordinator here with Matt Nagy, and this gives Matt an opportunity to go out there and run his own show, and do what he does best,” Reid said.
After the Chiefs’ 6-11 season, the worst in Reid’s 13 seasons in Kansas City, Nagy’s contract expired, and he went on an interview tour for coaching positions.
Nagy interviewed for head coaching positions with the Tennessee Titans, Baltimore Ravens, Las Vegas Raiders and Arizona Cardinals. He was considered a front-runner for the Titans job, which went to San Francisco 49ers defensive coordinator and former Jets head coach Robert Saleh.
The Raiders and Cardinals haven’t made hires as of Monday.
Nagy also interviewed for the offensive coordinator position with the Philadelphia Eagles, according to NFL Network. Nagy worked under Reid with the Eagles from 2008-2012.
Reid brought Nagy to Kansas City in 2013, and Nagy served as offensive coordinator here in 2016 and 2017 before becoming head coach of the Chicago Bears. In four seasons, he went 34-31.
Nagy then returned to Kansas City and replaced Bieniemy as offensive coordinator in 2023. The Chiefs won their third Super Bowl in five years that season. The other two were won with Bieniemy as OC.
“He’ll go out and be able to put his own mark on things, and that takes my name off of it,” Reid said. “And he gets a purity of it. I was hoping he’d be (in) a head coaching position, and it still might be that. He deserves that, definitely, for sure.
“If that doesn’t work, it gives him an opportunity to step in a coordinator (job) and run his show.”
Reid said Nagy’s ambition to become a head coach and call plays drove the decision to move on from the Chiefs.
“I know everybody’s going to question everything, and I get all that,” Reid said. “But Matt and I have a great relationship. Before the season even started here I knew he wanted an opportunity to have his own show.
“He’s been a head coach. He’s been coach of the year (2018). ... He deserves to have a head coaching job. If not, it gives him an opportunity to go out and do his thing. I would have told you the same thing about E.B. when he did it.
“Somebody’s missing a gem here.”