Matt Nagy - Pro Football Rumors

Extra Points: Nagy, Cowboys, Cards, Pugh

December 9th, 2017 at 8:51pm CST by Sam Robinson

The Chiefs‘ offense bounced back after a rough stretch, going off for 31 points and four Alex Smith touchdown passes in a loss to the Jets. While Kansas City’s defense couldn’t hold up in a shootout, the team will be sticking with the offensive setup that authored the mini-turnaround. OC Matt Nagy will continue to call plays, B.J. Kissel of KCChiefs.com tweets. The 474 yards the Chiefs put up were the most since their 537-yard explosion against the Patriots in Week 1. The Chiefs host the Raiders in what’s close to a must-win game. Nagy has been mentioned as a head-coaching candidate, and these games he has play-calling responsibilities could be a key factor in whether he’ll get that opportunity in 2018.

Here’s the latest from around the league.

Despite a 2018 roster that almost certainly will still house Chandler Jones, Markus Golden and Haason Reddick, the Cardinals are interested in bringing back outside linebacker Kareem Martin, Mike Jurecki of Arizonasports.com tweets. Martin’s a pending UFA and has been a part-time starter since being selected in the 2014 third round. Jurecki notes the team likes Martin’s versatility. Although, Arizona has used plenty of capital in stocking this position already.
The Cowboys will be without Orlando Scandrick, David Irving and Justin Durant against the Giants on Sunday, Mike Garafolo of NFL.com tweets. Scandrick suffered two transverse process fractures, while Durant and Irving remain in concussion protocol. The 6-6 Cowboys are clinging to contention and will need to complete a sweep of their NFC East rival to stay in the race.
Justin Pugh will be unavailable for the Giants. The upper-echelon blocker now faces the prospect of heading into free agency on a low note. Pugh’s back injury could force him to IR, Tom Rock of Newsday notes. Pugh said he wants to return this season but is also cognizant of his status. “I don’t want to,” he said of the prospect of being shut down for the season. “(But) I don’t want to make (the injury) even worse. It’s not at a point now where I have to get surgery or anything like that, and I don’t want it to get to that point.” Both Pugh and Weston Richburg, who is on IR, will see their contracts expire at season’s end. Pugh’s played in eight games this season.
Rookie Saints defensive end Trey Hendrickson is expected to miss multiple weeks due to an ankle injury sustained against the Falcons, Nick Underhill of The Advocate tweets. A third-round pick, Hendrickson has played in 12 games for the Saints this season as a backup.

Extra Points: Texans, RG3, Chiefs, Patriots

November 15th, 2017 at 9:55pm CST by Dallas Robinson

The Texans haven’t tried to hit a home run after losing quarterback Deshaun Watson for the season, as they’ve re-inserted Tom Savage as the starter while signing T.J. Yates, Josh Johnson, and Matt McGloin (since released). While Colin Kaepernick stands out as one signal-caller who could potentially aid Houston, there’s another free agent quarterback who could also make sense for the Texans: former Redskins/Browns passer Robert Griffin III.

“Deshaun’s an incredible player with a really bright future,” Griffin told John McClain of the Houston Chronicle. “I feel like I could help him after my experiences with Washington and Cleveland. I feel like I could help the team. I know a lot of their guys. I think I can do a lot of things they’ve been doing offensively. Texas is home, and I’ve always got a soft spot in my heart for Texas.”

Kaepernick, who notably starred collegiately in Texas at Baylor University, has been linked to a number of clubs this offseason — including the Seahawks, Chargers, and Ravens — but has yet to land a contract. While he’s certainly struggled in recent campaigns, he could theoretically offer upside that Savage, Yates, and Johnson do not. However, the Texans haven’t shown any indication that they plan to move away from Savage in the near future.

Here’s more from around the league:

Chiefs offensive coordinator Matt Nagy is considered a “hot name” in NFL circles and could be a head coaching candidate in 2018, according to Michael Lombardi of the Ringer (Twitter link). Nagy doesn’t call plays in Kansas City (head coach Andy Reid handles that duty), but the 39-year-old has helped orchestrate an exotic offense that’s featured career-best performance from quarterback Alex Smith and excellent contributions from young players such as Kareem Hunt and Tyreek Hill. At present, the Chiefs ranks third in offensive DVOA, fifth in yards, and fifth in scoring.
Special-teamer Matthew Slater suffered a “serious” hamstring injury in the Patriots‘ Week 10 victory over the Broncos and could now be sidelined for multiple games, tweets Ian Rapoport of NFL.com. A wide receiver in name only, Slater also missed the first four games of the season with a hamstring issue. He’s played only eight offensive snaps this year, but has seen time on a quarter of New England’s special teams plays. The Patriots are a top-five special teams unit in DVOA, as they have been in six of the past seven seasons.
Linebacker Dadi Nicolas (Chiefs) and cornerback Demetri Goodson (Packers) have both begun practicing and now have a 21-day window during which they can be activated from the physically unable to perform list, according to veteran NFL reporter Howard Balzer (Twitter links). As Terez A. Paylor of the Kansas City Star writes, the Chiefs are dealing with a number of injuries at linebacker, meaning Nicolas — who appeared in 11 games a season ago — could provide depth. Goodson made three starts for Green Bay in 2016 before going down with a torn ACL.
The Packers worked out running back Dare Ogunbowale on Wednesday while the Giants took a look at kicker Marshall Koehn, tweets Balzer. Green Bay is dealing with injuries to both Aaron Jones and Ty Montgomery, so the club is looking for backfield options. New York, meanwhile, has now auditioned kickers in two consecutive days, a sign the team could be frustrated with incumbent Aldrick Rosas‘ 66.7% field goal conversion rate.

Coaching Notes: Falcons, Rams, Nagy, Fangio

October 29th, 2017 at 7:59pm CST by Sam Robinson

The Falcons let two top Kyle Shanahan lieutenants leave shortly after their upper-echelon OC took the 49ers job, with Matt LaFleur and Mike McDaniel both departing for NFC West jobs. And in the eyes of NFL execs, that has hurt the Falcons.

“Losing Kyle was bad enough,” one exec familiar with Shanahan’s system told Jason La Canfora of CBS Sports, “but letting the other two walk is crushing them right now. [New OC Steve Sarkisian] doesn’t know what he’s doing in that offense. He’s running some of Kyle’s plays, but he’s not setting up things the way Kyle did. It’s Kyle’s plays but it’s not Kyle’s offense and they don’t have any other coach in that building who knows the scheme with LaFleur and McDaniel gone, too.”

LaFleur is now working under Sean McVay as the Rams‘ OC, but McVay is calling the plays for the resurgent team. McVay will likely be willing to let the 37-year-old LaFleur leave in the offseason for a team that will let him call plays, La Canfora reports, adding that many scouts and execs viewed LaFleur as Shanahan’s top sounding board in Atlanta. The Falcons still rank seventh in total offense, but their performance has dropped off dramatically from the 2016 historically dominant attack.

Here’s more from the coaching ranks as the schedule nears the midseason point.

The Colts are not expected to retain Chuck Pagano for a seventh season, and one name to monitor will be Chiefs offensive coordinator Matt Nagy. The second-year OC will be high (if not first) on Chris Ballard‘s list if/once he searches for his first head-coaching hire, Tom Pelissero of NFL.com reports. The 39-year-old Nagy’s been on Andy Reid staffs for 10 seasons and is in his first as a solo OC; he and Brad Childress shared that title last season. Nagy does not call plays, but the Chiefs are operating one of the more innovative offenses in the game — one that ranks second through seven games. That figures to put Nagy on radars.
Much like Josh McDaniels has resettled with the Patriots, Matt Patricia may be difficult to pry out of New England as well. The longtime Pats defensive coordinator would need the “perfect situation” to leave for an HC gig, Pelissero notes. Patricia, 43, has been a monitored HC candidate for years.
Vic Fangio‘s contract with the Bears expires after this season, La Canfora reports, adding the 59-year-old DC will be in demand for a head-coaching position come hiring time. The Bears rank 13th in defensive DVOA despite not deploying a player who’s made a Pro Bowl, and Fangio’s unit helped win a game that included four Mitch Trubisky pass completions before holding Drew Brees without a touchdown pass a week later. The 49ers asked permission to interview their former DC for that job, but the Bears denied that request.
A report emerged earlier today Hue Jackson is tentatively expected to be the 2018 Browns‘ coach despite a historically awful start to his Cleveland career, but La Canfora is less certain he or the new-age front office will be asked back. Jackson is 1-23 since taking over last season, with only John McKay’s 1976-77 Buccaneers having compiled a worse 24-game mark, but the ex-Bengals OC joined a historic rebuilding experiment. La Canfora writes that experiment thus far failing so spectacularly will call for Jimmy Haslam to fire key front office staffers and Jackson.

Chiefs Making Staff Changes

February 13th, 2017 at 4:32pm CST by Connor J. Byrne

After going with a two-offensive coordinator approach in 2016, the Chiefs will return to a more traditional style next season. The club has announced that Matt Nagy, who co-coordinated with Brad Childress in 2016, will stay on as the sole OC. Childress, meanwhile, will become Kansas City’s assistant head coach.

Under Nagy and Childress last season, the AFC West-winning Chiefs finished 13th in the NFL in both offensive DVOA and scoring. That was their only year at the helm together, as the Chiefs had promoted the pair last winter to take over for Doug Pederson after he became the Eagles’ head coach.

The 60-year-old Childress is the more established coach than Nagy, 38, and will enter his fifth season with the Chiefs in 2017. Childress potentially could have departed last month to become the Bills’ offensive coordinator, but he took himself out of the running. He’s now in perhaps his most prominent position since he was the head coach of the Vikings, with whom he went 39-35 from 2006-10.

Coaching Rumors: Jets, Bills, Jaguars, Titans

January 14th, 2017 at 9:38pm CST by Dallas Robinson

Broncos running backs coach Eric Studesville opted to stay in Denver rather than pursue the Jets‘ offensive coordinator vacancy, and New York’s hope to conduct a wide-ranging search for a new play-caller may have played a factor in Studesville declining to remain in contention, according to Rich Cimini of ESPN.com, who adds that Studesville didn’t want to “lose a bird in the hand.” The Jets have “at least” three other candidates on their radar at the moment, per Cimini, and one name of interest could be Chiefs co-offensive coordinator Matt Nagy (though it’s not clear if the ESPN scribe is reporting or speculating). Kansas City would be able to block any interview request from New York, which could present a problem as Gang Green continues its hunt. The Jets also expressed interest in new Raiders OC Todd Downing before he was promoted from QBs coach, per Cimini.

Here’s more on the coaching front from around the NFL:

The Bills announced that they’ve hired Mike Waufle to serve as the club’s new defensive line coach. Under Waufle’s direction, the 2016 Rams defensive line ranked first against the run, according to Football Outsiders‘ adjusted line yards metric. Additionally, the Bills have released former DC Dennis Thurman and OL coach Aaron Kromer — both of whom were hired by ex-head coach Rex Ryan — from their respective contracts, per Adam Caplan of ESPN.com (Twitter links).
Former Michigan running backs coach Tyrone Wheatley is joining the Jaguars staff, likely in the same capacity, tweets Alex Marvez of SiriusXM NFL Radio. Jacksonville has already announced that several members of their offensive coaching staff — including play-caller Nathaniel Hackett — will remain in place under new head coach Doug Marrone, but the club has been silent of the fate of current RBs coach Kelly Skipper. Wheatley, who was under consideration for Western Michigan’s head coaching job, last coached in the NFL from 2013-14 with the Bills.
The Titans are not expected to hire any of the wide receivers coaches who have recently been fired around the league, according to Paul Kuharsky of ESPN.com. Tennessee, seeking to replace Bob Bratkowski, has already offered the WR job to Denver’s Tyke Tolbert, who declined the offer in order to remain with the Broncos.

Chiefs Promote Brad Childress, Matt Nagy To OC

January 21st, 2016 at 2:50pm CST by Luke Adams

THURSDAY, 2:50pm: The Chiefs have confirmed that Childress and Nagy will serve as co-ofensive coordinators, making the announcement today in a press release.

MONDAY, 6:17pm: Nagy will share the offensive-coordinating responsibilities with Childress, a source told ESPN.com’s Adam Teicher. The ESPN.com Chiefs reporter doesn’t know yet how those duties will be allocated. The 37-year-old Nagy’s been a full-time coach on a Reid staff since 2010, when he joined the Eagles as an offensive assistant.

3:44pm: With Doug Pederson officially off to Philadelphia as the Eagles’ new head coach, the Chiefs are promoting from within, and will install assistant coach Brad Childress as their new offensive coordinator, according to Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (via Twitter).

Childress, who began his coaching career back in 1978 at the University of Illinois, served as the Eagles’ offensive coordinator from 2003 to 2005 before becoming head coach of the Vikings. Childress returned to an offensive coordinator role for the Browns in 2012, and has been a part of Kansas City’s staff since 2013.

The Chiefs’ official website, which refers to Childress as the club’s spread game analyst and special projects coach, suggests that the veteran coach has played “a critical role in helping the club prepare for its upcoming opponents,” and has proved to be “a vital asset and a creative mind for the franchise.”

Andy Reid indicated on Sunday that Pederson’s replacement would be an in-house candidate, and Childress always seemed to be the most logical internal choice. However, there was some speculation that he might end up in Philadelphia as Pederson’s offensive coordinator.

Peter King of TheMMQB.com suggested this morning that quarterbacks coach Matt Nagy looked like another candidate for a promotion to OC, and Rapoport tweeted today that running backs coach Eric Bieniemy was a “name to watch” for the job, calling him one of the most highly respected position coaches in the league.

Instead, it’ll be Childress, who will take over an offense that performed surprisingly well this season after the loss of Jamaal Charles. Although the Chiefs ranked 30th in passing yards per game (203.4) and 27th in overall yards per contest (331.2), they placed within the top 10 in rushing yards per game (127.8) and points per game (25.3).

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

King’s Latest: Chiefs, Steelers, Packers, Lynch

January 18th, 2016 at 8:50am CST by Luke Adams

In the wake of the weekend’s divisional playoff games, Peter King of TheMMQB.com takes a look at what’s next for the four teams eliminated from the postseason, and passes along several notable tidbits. Here are the highlights:

Odds are that Chiefs head coach Andy Reid will promote quarterbacks coach Matt Nagy to replace Doug Pederson as Kansas City’s offensive coordinator, says King. Brad Childress has been viewed as a candidate for that job as well.
With Derrick Johnson and Tamba Hali eligible for free agency, King expects the Chiefs to retain one of those two players, at most — the team is more likely to spend on its free agent defensive backs, Sean Smith and Eric Berry.
Michael Vick doesn’t appear to be in the Steelers‘ plans going forward, so the team should bring in a backup quarterback to challenge Landry Jones, King suggests. The MMQB scribe would also like to see Pittsburgh use a high draft choice on a tight end.
With Jordy Nelson back next year and the Packers developing some promising young receivers, James Jones may be a luxury that GM Ted Thompson decides he can’t afford. King writes that Green Bay also needs to invest in a pass rusher and perhaps draft Eddie Lacy‘s replacement.
“Even the most ardent Marshawn Lynch fan has to see it’s over for him,” according to King, who suggests that the Seahawks are likely to cut their longtime running back to create cap room for other core players.