Chicago Bears coaching candidate Matt Nagy will interview for the job today. The Kansas City Chiefs offensive coordinator is officially done for the season. This after his team suffered a bitter playoff loss to the Tennessee Titans less than 24 hours ago. Going into the game there was no denying his advocacy for the position. Yet after it, people seem to have instantly cooled on the young coach.
Is that really fair? Does one game make that big of a difference? It shouldn’t. Then again that’s how opinions go. They’re a week-to-week thing with most fans. At the same time it is curious what happened in the Chiefs game. They didn’t operate like they had for the previous few weeks when it was indicated that Nagy was the man calling the plays. Some even wondered if head coach Andy Reid had actually taken those duties back. Photos during the game support this theory.
Kansas City certainly didn’t run the ball like they had the past month. Pro Bowl running back Kareem Hunt only got 11 carries. One of the problems deciphered about Reid’s play calling this year? He tends to get pass-happy. So the question comes down to why he would seize control when Nagy seemed to be doing so well?
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It turns out there may be some political motivations at work.
Bears coaching candidate Matt Nagy may be victim of pettiness
I spoke with a source connected to the situation in Kansas City. What I got back was rather odd and fascinating. Apparently the play calling on offense had been split between Reid and Nagy all year. Each would design plays and put them into a game plan each week. The past month though Nagy had been able to call them in games. It would seem though Reid never truly relinquished the power.
“With the 50-50 situation and him not getting to call plays in game-winning drives or big situations, people feel like he is a big question mark about being a head coach and having to do normal coaching duties.
It’s like Andy senses he is going to end up as a head coach and he has refused to do anything to help him going forward. His play calling has been taken down less and less from him.”
It’s not clear why Reid would do such a thing. Is it a lack of trust or perhaps even a tinge of jealousy? One must not forget he turns 60-years old this March. Coaches his age grow increasingly insecure in their positions. The NFL has become a league constantly in search of the next young star, and the head coach is no different. Sean McVay (31-years old) in Los Angeles is a perfect example. Reid may be trying to protect his place on the mountaintop.
“Matt does all the work. All offseason and all week long only to have his role diminish week by week because the team is 5-0 and Andy senses someone out-coaching him.”
This would explain the offensive swoon after the Chiefs hot start
One must not forget how the supposed promotion of Nagy to play calling happened in the first place. Through the first five weeks of the season the offense was on fire. They averaged over 30 points per game and Hunt was one of the hottest running backs in football. Then all of sudden things shifted.
Through the first five games Hunt averaged 19.4 carries per game. Over the next six? That dropped to 14.5. Then all of sudden when Nagy was “promoted” in early December? The number went back up to 22 per game. Hunt, along with most of the starters, hardly played in the season finale against Denver. This would seem to indicate that Nagy had more play calling say early in the season, had it stripped, then got it back late in the year again.
It’s like each time Nagy had big success, Reid would cut his legs out from under him. It’s not hard to see why. Imagine what might happen were Nagy not hired by another team this year. Suddenly it might be Reid who’s in trouble of being replaced. Nagy is young (39-years old) and clearly has the trust of the players.
“Don’t be fooled. Alex (Smith), Kareem (Hunt) and Tyreek’s (Hill) success is no thanks to Andy. Matt has spent overtime grooming these guys and getting them ready.”
What better way to protect your job than making people think the young guy isn’t all that? Either way it seems the playoff loss in Kansas City was a result of many other things than Nagy being a bad coach.
