The Kansas City Chiefs had a disastrous season that saw the team miss the playoffs for the first time in the Patrick Mahomes era, but two coordinators are expected to get interviews for various head coaching jobs around the National Football League.
The Chiefs ended the season on a six-game losing streak and finished 6-11. During the third game of the losing streak with the team’s postseason hopes hanging on by a thread, Mahomes went down with a torn left ACL and PCL that effectively ended his season.
The Chiefs likely would’ve missed the playoffs anyway, but that was a huge blow that the team couldn’t come back from, and the offense was atrocious in Mahomes’ absence.
Still, despite a down year for the whole team, both offensive and defensive coordinators Matt Nagy and Steve Spagnuolo are expected to interview with several teams for their head coach openings.
The Tennessee Titans are especially interested in Nagy, as he was the first coordinator that the Titans reportedly requested to interview.
“The Matt Nagy situation is one to watch. The Chiefs' offensive coordinator is a free agent who will entertain his choices," ESPN's Jeremy Fowler wrote Wednesday. "Those include head coaching opportunities -- he'll be a candidate in Tennessee, among other spots -- and possibly as a playcaller/OC elsewhere. Kansas City certainly could attempt to keep him. But Nagy is also willing to bet on himself.”
The Arizona Cardinals and Las Vegas Raiders have also requested to interview Nagy, so it seems the former Chicago Bears head coach is being held in high regard during this coaching cycle.
In Nagy’s first season with the Bears, the “offensive guru” led the team to a 12-4 record and National Football Conference North title before the team lost in the Wild Card Round on the infamous double doink field goal attempt.
Chicago fell off from there, and Nagy was fired after his fourth season. While his tenure ended poorly, he had a great start to his tenure and is a respected coach in this league and has as good a shot as anybody to land another head coaching gig.
Spagnuolo received an interview request from the Titans as well, as both he and Nagy have ties to Titans general manager Mike Borgonzi. Spagnuolo is also expected to have an interview with the New York Giants and there's history there, too.
His other head coaching jobs didn’t go well, but with years of experience and learning comes improvement. There’s a reason why he keeps getting interviews even if he doesn’t get/accept the job.