On Jan. 6, 2018, the Tennessee Titans defeated the Kansas City Chiefs 22-21 in the AFC Wild Card round. I remember this vividly because it was the moment my wife — the biggest Chiefs fan I know, and I live in the Midwest! — developed a lifelong hatred of the Titans franchise.
Now, though, it looks like her team's salvation could depend on Tennessee hiring away a certain member of the Chiefs coaching staff.
Okay, maybe that's a bit of an overstatement, but Tennessee has beenreportedly connected to Chiefs offensive coordinator Matt Nagy, according to ESPN's Jeremy Fowler. There's no guarantee that the Titans land on Nagy in their head coaching search, but it makes some sense. He has previous coaching experience, even if his Bears tenure didn't necessarily end well. He's also an offensive-minded guy, something that the Titans need if they want quarterback Cam Ward to develop into a high-end NFL starter.
Changes are on the horizon for the Chiefs after this season, especially if the team fails to make the playoffs. A change at offensive coordinator is just one piece in the puzzle, but it might be much needed. The Titans could give Kansas City something it really needs by forcing the team to hire a new offensive coordinator.
Matt Nagy taking another job allows the Chiefs to start fresh
I don't necessarily believe that Nagy is the issue in Kansas City. Yes, the Chiefs haven't ranked in the top 10 in scoring offense in any of his three seasons since returning to the franchise, but personnel issues have played a larger role in that than anything. The Chiefs haven't built a great offense, though you could argue that if Nagy was really an elite offensive coordinator, he'd find a way to win despite that.
Of course, Nagy isn't the Chiefs' playcaller, as Andy Reid occupies that role, so if the issue is that Kansas City isn't calling the right plays, that's on Reid, not Nagy. Losing Nagy wouldn't fix that if the next offensive coordinator is going to just step in and do exactly what Nagy does.
Maybe, though, this would be a chance for the 67-year-old Reid to step aside from playcalling duties. Replace Nagy with a young mind who can inject some different looks into this offense, and maybe that would help the Chiefs get back on track.
Nagy leaving won't fix things, but it could provide a path toward things getting fixed, assuming Reid is ready for a radically different approach to how he manages this team. The entire Patrick Mahomes era has featured the Chiefs employing guys who have long been part of Reid's coaching tree. Nagy started as a coaching intern for Reid in Philadelphia in 2008, and Eric Bieniemy worked his way up to OC after being the Chiefs running backs coach for five seasons.
Letting Nagy go to Tennessee is a chance for fresh blood. Nagy himself isn't the problem, but he's a symptom of the problem, which is that the Chiefs need someone who isn't connected to Reid to help jumpstart this offense. If Nagy got replaced by pass game coordinator Joe Bleymaier, that's not fixing anything.