Former Kansas City Chiefs OC Matt Nagy has backup plan after losing out to Robert Saleh on Titans job

Will former Chiefs OC Matt Nagy land one of the six remaining NFL head-coaching vacancies? What happens if he doesn’t?

Charles Goldman — NFL Managing Editor

Jan 20, 2026 11:40 AM EST

It seemed inevitable that former Kansas City Chiefs OC Matt Nagy would land his next head-coaching job this cycle, but that isn’t looking like a given after losing out to Robert Saleh with the Tennessee Titans.

His connections to GM Mike Borgonzi didn’t help him this time around. In fact, they might’ve even hurt him in the long run, as Titans ownership sought to avoid a situation in which Borgonzi appeared to hire one of his Chiefs buddies.

The reality is that Nagy remains a very good candidate based on his resume, but he might not have a clear path to a job with any of the teams that now have vacancies. The Buffalo Bills might be wary of adding someone from Andy Reid’s coaching tree after parting ways with HC Sean McDermott. The Las Vegas Raiders, Arizona Cardinals, and Baltimore Ravens have already interviewed Nagy, but don’t yet seem keen on moving beyond that initial interview to the finalist round. The Cleveland Browns and Pittsburgh Steelers are the only two teams with vacancies who have yet to interview Nagy, aside from the Bills.

We know he won’t be returning to Kansas City after reports that the team has hired Chicago Bears RB coach Eric Bieniemy to fill their offensive coordinator vacancy. With only six head-coaching jobs remaining (Bills, Browns, Steelers, Cardinals, Raiders, and Ravens), Nagy may soon shift his focus to landing a familiar coaching role with another club.

Matt Nagy could now shift his focus toward an offensive coordinator job with play-calling responsibilities

We already know, based on an NFL insider report, that Nagy had a backup plan in case something like this happened. If he’s unable to secure one of the six remaining head-coaching vacancies, Nagy could seek out “a play-calling job elsewhere.” That’s the one area in which his experience has really lacked over the past four seasons. He did have play-calling duties as head coach of the Chicago Bears from 2018 to 2021, with a brief lapse when he turned them over to Bill Lazor. That’s not to say his resume in Kansas City disqualifies him, but it’s a major concern for some clubs, especially if he aims to continue as a head coach and play-caller without giving those duties to an offensive coordinator.

All that said, there’s a lot more opportunity out there in offensive coordinator jobs, with over double the vacancies as head-coaching openings. Perhaps Nagy remains an offensive coordinator candidate for Robert Saleh in Tennessee. Only time will tell there. However, things could shake out where he joins someone like John Harbaugh with the New York Giants, given that Todd Monken has taken some interviews elsewhere.

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