Matt Nagy could get a second chance.
That’s what people around the NFL are telling CBS Sports insider Jonathan Jones, who wrote that various executives and coaching agents have told him that the former Bears head coach and current Chiefs offensive coordinator “should be in the mix for a head coach job this upcoming cycle.”
The Jets and Saints have already fired their head coaches, and there could be plenty more openings depending on how things break around the league.
The perception of Nagy is that he was a failure as head coach of the Bears, a job he held from 2018-21.
However, Jones writes that time has made the perception of his tenure “look even better.”
Nagy had a 34-31 record in the regular season and the team made the playoffs twice in four years. He was fired after the team went 6-11 in 2021.
Besides the two times under Nagy, the Bears have not reached the postseason since 2011.
Nevertheless, there’s a perception that the offensive coordinator role with the Chiefs is not that vital of a role, as head coach Andy Reid and quarterback Patrick Mahomes receive a lion’s share of the credit.
For years NFL pundits clamored for former Chiefs offensive coordinator Eric Bieniemy to get a shot at a head coaching job.
When Bieniemy made a lateral move to take the Commanders’ offensive coordinator job, the Chiefs won another Super Bowl and the Washington offense did not elevate.
Reid told CBS that Nagy actually has a lot of autonomy.
“He does everything,” the Chiefs head coach said. “He sets up the offense. He coordinates the offense is what he does. And he’s so creative. I knew that when he was a quarterbacks coach, and I saw it when he was a coordinator, and then you saw it in Chicago as their head coach. And then he comes back here, and I want the best out of the guys. So with him, you just cut him loose and let him go.”