Andy Reid Recommended Matt Nagy To John Harbaugh

Chiefs head coach Andy Reid let offensive coordinator Matt Nagy leave Kansas City this offseason, but he also helped him get his new job in New York.

Reid recommended Nagy to Giants head coach John Harbaugh (via SNY’s Connor Hughes) during his scramble to find a new offensive coordinator after Todd Monken took the Browns’ head coaching job. Harbaugh had long been planning to bring Monken, his OC in Baltimore, to New York and even tried to talk him out of going to Cleveland.

But Monken could not give up his first opportunity to be an NFL head coach, and Harbaugh had to look elsewhere. He interviewed a number of qualified candidates, though the pool of available talent had been thinned significantly by that point. So when Reid called Harbaugh to personally endorse his longtime assistant, the discussion likely carried a lot of weight in the Giants’ final decision.

Harbaugh went with another assistant hire who is once-removed from his coaching tree in assistant offensive line coach Grant Newsome, per ESPN’s Pete Thamel. Newsome previously worked under Jim Harbaugh as Michigan’s offensive line coach and sent a number of players to the NFL, including current Giants guard Jon Runyan Jr.

The Giants are still adding former Ravens assistants, though, including outside linebackers coach Matt Robinson, per CBS Sports’ Matt Zenitz. He will move back to an assistant defensive line coach role, which was his title in Baltimore in 2024. He played a key role in developing Ravens outside linebacker Tavius Robinson and defensive tackles Nnamdi Madubuike and Travis Jones.

Cardinals Request DC Interviews With Charlie Bullen, Aubrey Pleasant

The Cardinals made a rather surprising offensive coordinator hire Wednesday, changing Nathaniel Hackett‘s plans after he had previously committed to becoming the Dolphins’ quarterbacks coach. Arizona is now on the hunt for a DC.

Interview slips are going out, with NFL.com’s Mike Garafolo and Ian Rapoport reporting Charlie Bullen and Aubrey Pleasant are under consideration for this job. Bullen finished last season as the Giants’ interim DC, while Pleasant is the Rams’ defensive pass-game coordinator. Bullen is a former Cardinals assistant, working in Arizona during Kliff Kingsbury‘s time as head coach.

[RELATED: NFL Offensive/Defensive Coordinator Search Tracker]

Pleasant has been a regular on the DC interview circuit, and he worked with Mike LaFleur for the past three seasons. It is certainly not uncommon for new HCs to bring staffers with them from their previous teams, and Pleasant has extensive experience interviewing for DC posts.

Pleasant is a two-stint Rams assistant, serving as cornerbacks coach from 2017-20, DBs coach in 2023 and assistant HC/pass-game coordinator over the past two seasons. Sean McVay assistants regularly land promotions, as the LaFleur Cardinals hire showed most recently.

The Bears and Jaguars sent Pleasant interview slips last year. The Rams met with him about replacing Raheem Morris in 2024. The Saints and Vikings discussed their positions with him in 2022. Back in 2019, the Bengals began his time on the DC carousel with an interview. The Chargers discussed their DC position with Pleasant this year. None of these meetings has produced a hire, but with LaFleur working with the Sean McVay assistant previously, this could present the best path for upward mobility yet for the 13-season NFL staffer.

John Harbaugh is prepared to retain Bullen as outside linebackers coach, but the Giants cannot block a DC interview since it represents a promotion to the coordinator tier. The Cowboys interviewed Bullen for their defensive coordinator gig earlier this offseason.

Bullen, 41, was on all four Kingsbury Cardinals staffs. After a season as Arizona’s assistant linebackers coach in 2019, he climbed to ILBs coach during Vance Joseph‘s time as DC. Bullen was on the past two Giants staffs, mentoring Brian Burns, Kayvon Thibodeaux and Abdul Carter in that span. Burns posted a career-best 16.5 sacks in 2025, earning him his first All-Pro honor. Bullen also spent seven seasons in Miami, working under Joe Philbin, Dan Campbell and Adam Gase.

Giants Hire Dawn Aponte As Senior VP

Dawn Aponte is leaving the league office for an executive position with the Giants, according to Jordan Raanan and Adam Schefter of ESPN.com. Aponte will serve as the Giants’ senior vice president in football operations.

This ends a nine-year run with the league for Aponte, a Staten Island native who had been the NFL’s chief administrator of football operations since 2017. Working with a team isn’t anything new for Aponte, however. Since beginning as an accountant in 1994, Aponte has garnered significant experience with the Jets, Browns and Dolphins.

In her seven years before joining the league office, Aponte held three different titles in Miami, including executive VP of football administration for five seasons. Joe Schoen, now the Giants’ general manager, was a Dolphins employee during Aponte’s entire tenure with the organization.

In 2024, eight years after leaving the Dolphins, Aponte interviewed for the Chargers’ GM job. Then seeking a replacement for the fired Tom Telesco, the Chargers went on to hire Joe Hortiz. The Jets also interviewed Aponte for their GM opening before hiring Darren Mougey last year, Paul Schwartz of the New York Post reports.

Aponte will now take on an important role in New York in replacing Kevin Abrams, whom the Giants let go last month after almost three decades with the franchise. Abrams’ ouster came shortly after the Giants hired head coach John Harbaugh, who has worked to reshape the organization early in his tenure.

Like Abrams, Aponte is known as a skilled contract negotiator. Aponte, who has a degree from New York Law School, will deal with matters related to contracts and the salary cap as a member of the Giants’ front office.

Giants To Hire Matt Nagy As OC

The Giants have landed on their new offensive coordinator. Matt Nagy is heading to New York, as first reported by Ian Rapoport, Mike Garafolo and Tom Pelissero of NFL Network.

Nagy had spent the past four seasons in Kansas City. After his Bears head coaching tenure ended, he returned to the Chiefs as their quarterbacks coach in 2022. For the next three seasons, Nagy operated as the team’s offensive coordinator (a role which did not involve play-calling duties). He turned down an extension offer, making it clear to head coach Andy Reid before the start of the 2025 season a departure was his intention.

The 2026 hiring cycle appeared to include a clear opportunity for Nagy to land a second HC gig. The Titans were long thought to be a destination in his case given the presence of former Chiefs front office staffer Mike Borgonzi. In the end, though, the Titans hired Robert Saleh as their new head coach. The NFL’s remaining vacancies were filled over time, leaving an offensive coordinator gig as Nagy’s next target. The 47-year-old will now take charge of an offense, with the New York OC post including the responsibility of calling plays.

The Giants were successful in their push to hire John Harbaugh as their new head coach. Once his deal was in place, many expected Todd Monken to follow Harbaugh from Baltimore to New York. The two worked with each other on the Ravens’ staff for three seasons. Harbaugh attempted to recruit Monken for the Giants’ offensive coordinator post, but the opportunity loomed for a first ever NFL head coaching opportunity with the Browns at the time. Monken wound up joining Cleveland as the team’s new head coach last week.

Monken’s decision forced Harbaugh to pivot. A long list of coordinator candidates emerged, with many receiving an interview. Nagy – who spoke with the Eagles about their OC gig – was not known to be a Giants target as of Tuesday, but he will now take charge of New York’s offense. Harbaugh was known to be seeking a veteran for this position, and Nagy fits the bill. He began his career by working on Reid’s Eagles staff before advancing to the role of offensive coordinator during his first stint with the Chiefs.

Nagy earned Coach of the Year honors in 2018, his first season at the helm of the Bears. Chicago went 12-4 that year, but Nagy did not manage a winning record during any of his three subsequent seasons in place. It remains to be seen if a second opportunity to lead a staff will come about in Nagy’s case. For now, his attention will turn to developing a young Giants offense as the team looks for immediate success under Harbaugh.

New York added quarterback Jaxson Dart and running back Cam Skattebo during the 2025 draft. Both players figure to be a part of the team’s core for years to come, with the same being true of wideout Malik NabersThe Giants ranked 17th in scoring this past season despite dealing with a number of injuries on offense and the transition from Brian Daboll to Mike Kafka as head coach. With several new faces on the sidelines, it will be interesting to see how the Giants fare in 2026.

John Harbaugh Tried To Talk Todd Monken Into Taking Giants’ OC Job

When John Harbaugh was nearing an agreement to become the Giants’ head coach in mid-January, all signs pointed to then-Ravens offensive coordinator Todd Monken taking the same position in New York. Monken, who worked under Harbaugh in Baltimore from 2023-25, was in discussions with the Giants on a contract as recently as last week.

To Harbaugh’s chagrin, his plan went out the window when Monken became the Browns’ head coach last Wednesday. While Harbaugh told Bob Brookover of NJ Advance Media he’s “proud of [Monken],” he’s nonetheless disappointed the two didn’t reunite with the Giants

“I tried to talk him out of it,” Harbaugh said. “That’s my job, right. I really thought he was coming with us, but Cleveland was in there all along and he had been there before in 2019 as the offensive coordinator, so they knew him and he wanted this opportunity”

With Monken out of the picture, the Giants are still without an offensive coordinator in early February. However, Harbaugh believes there are still “a lot of really good candidates” out there. Harbaugh’s history of O-coordinator hires suggests he’ll opt for someone who has called plays before, Brookover notes. All seven OCs Harbaugh worked with in Baltimore from 2008-25 came with prior play-calling experience.

“Proven guys are always probably the most interesting, but then proven guys also have scars,” he told Brookover. “Sometimes people don’t want to live with the scars. But if you don’t have any scars you haven’t been in any fights.”

So far, the Giants have either interviewed or considered interviews with Brian Callahan, Jim Bob Cooter, Shane Day, Kliff Kingsbury, Robert Prince and Alex Tanney. Prince is no longer in the running, having joined the Falcons as their wide receivers coach last week.

Day and Tanney are left as the only members of the group who have not called plays in the NFL. Unless Harbaugh veers from his typical approach, it seems likely Callahan, Cooter, Kingsbury or a yet-to-be-named candidate who’s an established play-caller will serve as the Giants’ top offensive coach in 2026.

Giants Considering Brian Callahan, Kliff Kingsbury For OC

The Giants have added to their list of offensive coordinator candidates. According to ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler, New York has either spoken with, or plans to speak with, Brian Callahan and Kliff Kingsbury about its OC vacancy.

Callahan, 41, lasted less than two seasons as the Titans’ head coach, as Tennessee fired him before the halfway point of the 2025 campaign. Still, he earned that position on the strength of his performance as the Bengals’ offensive coordinator prior to his stint in Nashville, and he has received interest as an OC in this year’s cycle.

He interviewed for the Chargers’ position that ultimately went to Mike McDaniel, and he landed a second interview for the Bucs’ gig. Tampa Bay chose to hire Zac Robinson instead, but Callahan apparently remains well-regarded in league circles. This is despite the fact that he was a non-play-calling coordinator during his time in Cincinnati, and while he is credited for helping Joe Burrow become one of the league’s best quarterbacks, the Titans – who obviously do not boast a talent like Burrow under center – faltered with Callahan calling plays (in a failed effort to right the ship, Callahan even gave up those duties to quarterbacks coach Bo Hardegree before Week 4 of the 2025 slate).

Kingsbury, 46, enjoyed some success as the Cardinals’ head coach from 2019-22, helping quarterback Kyler Murray become a Pro Bowl-caliber player and leading the team to a playoff berth in 2021. A 4-13 showing in 2022 triggered his ouster, but he seemed to rebuild his stock as the Commanders’ offensive coordinator in 2024. That season, QB Jayden Daniels earned Offensive Rookie of the Year honors, and Washington made a surprise trip to the NFC Championship Game. 

Daniels’ injury-marred sophomore slate was the biggest factor in the Commanders’ 2025 regression. As such, it would not have been surprising to see Kingsbury – who spurned HC interest last year in order to continue working with Daniels – remain in place in 2026. Instead, philosophical differences with GM Adam Peters and HC Dan Quinn led to a parting of the ways.

Kingsbury nonetheless landed HC and OC interviews with both the Ravens and Titans this year. If he secures the Giants’ post, he will have the opportunity to work with another promising young passer in 2025 first-rounder Jaxson Dart, whose presence is one of the reasons why Big Blue’s HC opportunity was considered an attractive one.

John Harbaugh earned that post after his 18-year stint as the Ravens’ sideline general came to an end. As Dan Duggan of The Athletic observes, Harbaugh has generally preferred to hire OCs with play-calling experience at the professional level. Now that the Browns hired Todd Monken – who had been expected to follow Harbaugh from Baltimore to New York – as their head coach, Harbaugh will need to look elsewhere for that type of experience.

As Fowler notes in a follow-up post, the Giants are expected to bring their OC finalists to their facility for in-person interviews this week. Here is an updated look at New York’s search:

Giants, Browns Picking Apart Old Ravens Staff

For new Giants head coach John Harbaugh, having to completely build a new staff for the first time in 18 years was going swimmingly as he cleared out several incumbent staffers and started to import assistant coaches from his old staff in Baltimore. That strategy hit a snag when the Browns hired Harbaugh’s former offensive coordinator Todd Monken to be their new head coach.

To start, there had been rumors that Harbaugh had wanted Monken to follow him to New York and coordinate his offense led by Jaxson Dart, Cam Skattebo, and Malik Nabers. Not only does Harbaugh now have to go back to the drawing board on hiring an offensive coordinator, but he now also has to fend off his former coordinator for former Ravens staffers that both men might want in their new cities.

The first instance of this saw Monken win out as offensive line coach George Warhop decided to follow Monken to Cleveland. Warhop had only arrived in Baltimore two years ago to serve as an interim OL coach when longtime Ravens OL coach Joe D’Alessandris was hospitalized over the summer. When D’Alessandris unfortunately passed away eight days later, Warhop stepped into the full-time role. Harbaugh had expressed strong interest in bringing Warhop to New York, per NFL insider Jordan Schultz, but ultimately, Monken won the battle for his services.

Shortly after that, Monken named Travis Switzer as his offensive coordinator. Switzer had spent his entire coaching career in Baltimore, joining the team in 2017 as an administrative assistant. He worked his way up the ladder, serving as a performance staff assistant in 2018, then two years as a coaching analyst for the offense, two years as an offensive quality control coach, and three years as run game coordinator. The 33-year-old has now earned his first offensive coordinator opportunity with the Browns.

Monken also worked quickly and is expected to hire former Ravens offensive assistant Danny Breyer, according to CBS Sports’ Matt Zenitz, elevating him in the process to the title of pass game coordinator. Per Zenitz, Breyer worked closely with the Ravens’ talented tight ends group anchored by Mark Andrews and Isaiah Likely during his three years with the team. He now heads to Cleveland where another talented pair of tight ends — veteran David Njoku and rookie sensation Harold Fannin Jr. — just finished the year with a combined 105 receptions for 1,024 yards and 10 touchdowns.

It may not only be coaches the two staffs are fighting for. We’ve already heard rumors that pending free agent center Tyler Linderbaum is a target of Harbaugh’s. With Likely also expected to hit free agency, he may want to keep working with Breyer in Cleveland. Njoku is also set to become a free agent, so Monken and the Browns may work to bring in a younger veteran who is more accustomed to working in a duo to pair with Fannin.

Harbaugh may have realized that the offense staff could be off limits. Today, it was announced that Chad Hall, who served as New York’s assistant quarterbacks coach in 2025, will stick around but with a new title. Hall is expected to be named wide receivers coach for the team in 2026, per Zenitz. Harbaugh hasn’t given up on picking apart the Ravens’ defensive staff, though. According to Zenitz, Baltimore’s former defensive backs coach, Donald D’Alesio, is set to join the coaching staff in New York. A follow-up report by ESPN’s Adam Schefter tells us D’Alesio will join the Giants as defensive pass game coordinator/secondary coach. He joins running backs coach Willie Taggart, defensive line coach Dennis Johnson, special teams coordinator Chris Horton, and assistant linebacker coach Matt Pees in the Ravens’ migration to New York.

As for Baltimore, new head coach Jesse Minter is working to fill out his first coaching staff, but as he does, he doesn’t have to worry about one aspect. Usually, pursuing a defensive coordinator hire requires an evaluation a coach’s play-calling abilities, but according to Jeff Zrebiec of The Athletic, Minter has declared his plans to call the defense as head coach. Zrebiec also relayed that, much like Harbaugh enjoyed in Baltimore and demanded in New York, Minter will report directly to owner Steve Bisciotti, presumably on equal footing with general manager Eric DeCosta. In fact, DeCosta was the one who reported it to the media.

Following the filling of their offensive coordinator position, the Ravens are also looking at interviewing Bills quarterbacks coach Ronald Curry for the same position, per Ian Rapoport of NFL Network. While there isn’t expected to be much change in Buffalo’s offensive staff after Joe Brady was promoted from offensive coordinator to head coach, Curry actually goes back even further with new Ravens OC Declan Doyle. The two spent four years together in New Orleans on staff with the Saints under Sean Payton.

Curry has interviewed for offensive coordinator openings with the Broncos and Jets and could still win either job, so he’s not necessarily locked in right now with Buffalo. Since the move to Baltimore would be a lateral one, Brady and Co. may opt to block him from interviewing, but if he does miss out on an OC position and get the opportunity to interview with the Ravens, it will be interesting to see if Curry gets his pick at choosing between the two most-recent MVP-winners.

Giants To Interview Chargers QBs Coach Shane Day For OC Job

The Giants have added Chargers quarterback coach Shane Day to their list of candidates for their offensive coordinator vacancy. He will interview for the job on Saturday, according to NFL insider Jordan Schultz.

Day, 51, joined the Chargers in 2024 on Jim Harbaugh‘s new coaching staff. He would be staying in the family if he gets the job in New York under Jim’s brother, John Harbaugh. But unlike most of the recent hires to the Giants’ coaching staff, Day has no direct connection to John Harbaugh himself.

Instead, Day has held a variety of roles with six different NFL teams in the last two decades, as well as brief college stints at Michigan and Connecticut. He was the quarterbacks coach for the Bears (2010-2011), 49ers (2019-2020), and the Chargers (2021-2022, 2024-present). Across his career, he has worked with Jay Cutler, Jimmy Garoppolo, Justin Herbert, and C.J. Stroud, among others.

Day was particularly instrumental in developing Herbert. He arrived in Los Angeles in Herbert’s second year in the NFL, in which he became one of three players to eclipse 5,000 passing yards since 2020. Herbert put up another strong year in 2022, saw a dip in 2023, and rebounded in 2024 and 2025 working with Day once more.

The success of Day’s partnership with Herbert is likely one of the main reasons for the Giants’ interest in hiring Day. They will be hoping that 2025 first-round pick Jaxson Dart can take a leap in his first full season as a starter, and Day could be the coach to pull that out of him.

However, Day has never called plays for a college or pro team. He would have those responsibilities under Harbaugh in New York, so hiring him could be a bit of a gamble. It might be worth the risk, though, if Day can take Dart to the next level.

Giants Schedule Jim Bob Cooter OC Meeting, Send Alex Tanney Interview Request

Davis Webb is not the only former Giants quarterback on the team’s offensive coordinator radar. Alex Tanney is in this race as well. Multiple Colts staffers who coached Daniel Jones last season have received interview slips from the Giants.

The Giants sent Tanney an OC meeting request Thursday, ESPN.com’s Jeremy Fowler tweets. The team also has scheduled an interview with Colts OC Jim Bob Cooter about the job, per ESPN.com’s Peter Schrager.

[RELATED: Cooter Completes Second Eagles OC Interview]

With the Giants from 2018-20, Tanney was one of Jones’ backups. Hired by the Colts as their pass-game coordinator in 2024, Tanney spent last season coaching his former teammate. Cooter has been the Colts’ OC since 2023, but because the Giants’ OC post would involve play-calling duties, Indianapolis cannot block him from this lateral move.

Considering Jones’ mostly disappointing Giants tenure, it is interesting the Giants have two of his Indianapolis mentors on their OC radar. Tanney served as one of Jones’ backups for two seasons, spending time on the practice squad and active roster. Tanney, 38, only played in one game with the team (during the 2019 season). But he has resurfaced as a promising assistant coach.

The Eagles employed Tanney as their QBs coach in 2023, promoting him after he spent two prior years on Nick Sirianni’s staff. Sirianni hired Tanney two days after he retired. While Tanney only made his way into two career games, he bounced around as a backup/P-squad option from 2012-20 before calling it quits in 2021. Tanney and Webb overlapped briefly as teammates, both going to Giants training camp in 2018 — Eli Manning‘s final starter season.

The Colts hired Tanney in 2024, reuniting him with former Eagles boss Shane Steichen. Now, two of Steichen’s top assistants are in the mix to work under John Harbaugh in New York. Tanney was with nine NFL teams, but the Ravens were not among that group.

Weeks after the Giants cut Jones to wrap a six-year partnership, he drew free agent offers from the Colts and Vikings. Jones chose Indianapolis due to the better chance it presented for a starting role, and Cooter was a key part of his bounce-back season.

After never eclipsing seven yards per attempt in New York, Jones closed his injury-shortened Indy slate with an 8.1-yard average. The Colts were soaring on offense during the season’s first half, sitting at 8-2. Jones led the NFL in success rate and completed a career-high 68% of his passes to go with 3,101 yards despite finishing only 12 games.

Cooter and Tanney also were part of the crew that helped Philip Rivers resemble a viable option despite nearly five years away from the game. Rivers unretired and started three games. His effort against the Seahawks — which required a 56-yard Jason Myers game-winner to down the visitors — has aged rather well considering Seattle’s defense-powered Super Bowl charge. Rivers then tallied 277 yards and two touchdown passes in a Monday-night outing against the 49ers, reflecting well on Steichen and his assistants.

Via PFR’s Offensive/Defensive Coordinator Search Tracker, here is how the Giants’ process stands following would-be hire Todd Monken being named Browns head coach:

LSU OC Charlie Weis Jr. On Giants’ Radar

After missing out on Todd Monken, John Harbaugh may consider dipping into the college coaching ranks to fill his offensive coordinator vacancy.

LSU offensive coordinator Charlie Weis Jr. is “garnering a lot of attention” for the job, per SNY’s Connor Hughes. The 32-year-old spent the last four seasons in the same role at Ole Miss and is currently set to follow Lane Kiffin to Baton Rouge for the 2026 season. Weis already turned down the Eagles’ interest in hiring him as their offensive coordinator, but the Giants may make a push of their own.

Weis is the son of former Notre Dame and Kansas coach Charlie Weis, who also held a number of assistant roles with the Giants, Patriots, Jets, and Chiefs. Weis worked under his father for the first four years of his coaching career before landing a job under Nick Saban in 2015. It was at Alabama that Weis began working under Kiffin, his longtime mentor. Weis spent the 2017 season with the Falcons before joining Kiffin as Florida Atlantic’s offensive coordinator. The duo continued to South Florida and Ole Miss before landing their latest jobs with LSU.

If Weis is willing to hear an offer from the Giants, they might want to make it a good one. Over the last four years, he has helped build the Rebels’ offense into one of the best in the country. In 2024, the unit ranked third in points and second in yards in the FBS, and despite losing quarterback Jaxson Dart it remained one of the NCAA’s best en route to a college Football Playoff appearance this past season.

Weis should not necessarily be considered a frontrunner at this point, Hughes notes. Nevertheless, his name continues to be mentioned as a logical fit with Dart and Co. in New York. It will be interesting to see if the Giants make a concerted effort in this case with Monken no longer on the market.

Via PFR’s Coordinator Search Tracker, here is an updated look at the team’s situation:

Adam La Rose contributed to this post.

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