Since John Harbaugh took over as the head coach of the New York Giants, the biggest question was who he would hire as offensive coordinator. It was always going to be his biggest hire considering quarterback Jaxson Dart is entering a pivotal Year 2 in his NFL career.

Now we know who Harbaugh is betting on, and Giants fans are questioning his choice, starting with the fact that the Kansas City Chiefs recently parted ways with him after a 6-11 season in 2025. But that doesn’t tell the whole story. We’ll get into that but first, the news.

Giants hiring Matt Nagy as offensive coordinator

The Giants are hiring former Chiefs offensive coordinator Matt Nagy to be their offensive coordinator, Ian Rapoport from NFL Network reported Tuesday morning. Nagy is best known for his experience coaching under Andy Reid. Harbaugh also coached under Reid as special teams coordinator and later defensive backs coach.

Most recently, Nagy was offensive coordinator for the Chiefs, a role he returned to in 2023 after first manning it in 2016-2017. The Chiefs decided to part ways with him to bring back Eric Bienemy as their OC. Nagy oversaw some of the worst years of offensive production of Patrick Mahomes’ career, though to be fair, talent has also played a major part in the decline of the high-powered Chiefs offense.

Additionally, Nagy’s head coaching run with the Chicago Bears didn’t go great, as his offense ranked outside the league’s Top 20 in yard each season from 2018 to 2021. It’s only fair to wonder how he’ll do as the Giants’ primary play-caller.

Last month, Nagy was in the mix for the Tennessee Titans’ head coaching job following his departure as OC for the Chiefs.

Nagy wasn’t fired from the Chiefs

Many fans are wondering why Nagy was available in the first place, and many assume he was straight up fired by Kansas City. That’s not true.

So I reached out to our own Charles Goldman, who covers the Chiefs for us at A to Z Sports Kansas City. He provided valuable insight, starting with the fact that Nagy’s departure was always part of the plan.

Goldman: “A common misconception is that the Chiefs fired Nagy. That’s not the case at all. The Chiefs didn’t renew Nagy’s expiring contract because that simply wasn’t the plan.

“Andy Reid indicated that Nagy had told him before the season that he’d seek a head-coaching opportunity at the conclusion of his contract and they prepared as such. The reality behind that is that he’d run his course in Kansas City. Yes, he contributed in a big way to three consecutive Super Bowl appearances (not as an offensive coordinator, but an assistant in 2023).

“At the same time, he was part of a 2025 NFL season that produced a 6-11 record, the single worst mark of the Andy Reid & Patrick Mahomes era. Had the season gone differently, I’m not sure they would have pursued an extension for Nagy either. It was simply time for the two sides to go their separate way. Even with a head-coaching job being the goal, the Giants are the ideal backup plan for Nagy.

“If he couldn’t land a head-coaching job, recent reports indicated that he sought the opportunity to be an offensive play-caller again. That’s something that wouldn’t happen as offensive coordinator in K.C. and something Nagy hasn’t had control of since his time as head coach with the Chicago Bears.”

Andy Reid on Nagy

To back up Charles’ point, just take a look at what Chiefs HC Andy Reid has recently said about Nagy.

“Somebody is missing a gem here, that’s how I feel, and I would love to see (Nagy) get picked up and going,” Reid recently told reporters.

When Nagy was looking for a head coaching opportunity before settling to be the Giants OC, Reid showed his support for him while announcing Bienemy as the new OC in Kansas City.

“We had another great coordinator, too, with Matt Nagy, and this gives Matt an opportunity to go out and run his show there and do what he does best, taking two Super Bowl Championships with him and three Super Bowl appearances and a top ten offense that he was working with this past year,” Reid said. “He’ll go out and be able to put his own mark on things and that takes my name off of it and he gets the purity of it. I was hoping it’d be a head coaching position, and it still might be that. He deserves that definitely for sure. If that doesn’t work, it gives him an opportunity to step in as a coordinator and run his show from there. It’s a win-win on both sides for both coaches.”

Though it won’t be as head coach, Nagy now gets to run his offense instead of Reid’s in New York.

Nagy is a ‘safe’ bet for Harbaugh

It’s difficult to look at Nagy’s record and expect him to be the tactician that turns the Giants offense into a powerhouse in 2026. However, Nagy has worked with the NFL’s best in Reid and Mahomes. He’s been a head coach, and will have no trouble running the entire offensive operation. With him on board, Harbaugh can rest easy knowing his offense is led by an experienced coach.

But the safe bet isn’t always the best. Now we wait and see how he does developing Dart and the offense. That’s how Nagy will be evaluated.