On Friday, Kansas City Chiefs Head Coach Andy Reid filled the final vacant position on his 2022 coaching staff. By reuniting with former Chicago Bears HC Matt Nagy, who served as Kansas City’s QBs coach from 2013-2015, and offensive coordinator from 2016-2017. He will serve as the Chiefs’ QBs coach and offensive assistant in 2022.
Nagy’s final season as OC was when the Chiefs drafted quarterback Patrick Mahomes, who played backup to then-starting QB Alex Smith. By the time Mahomes was named the team’s starting QB, Nagy had packed his bags for Chicago to serve as the Bears’ next head coach.
Before all the glam, money, broken records, championships, and other accolades he’s collected, Patrick Mahomes was just a young kid trying to make it in the NFL as the Chiefs’ new signal-caller back. Mahomes has credited many people who helped him get to where he is today, and as he initially stated during the 2018 preseason, one of those individuals was Matt Nagy.
“I think he relates to quarterbacks so well,” Mahomes told reporters ahead of a preseason game with the Bears in 2018. “Especially the young guys. He’s been through the process. He’s tried to make a career of his own as a quarterback then moved over to coaching. Just having someone that has been through that process and knows how to relate to the young guys and especially the quarterback position will help you really understand the offense and really understand what the defenses are trying to get.”
At the time, Nagy’s personal experience as an NFL quarterback allowed him to simplify things for Mahomes when he was the backup behind Alex Smith. Mahomes also felt that Nagy’s offensive strategy when he was the team’s OC helped him on the practice field and during his lone NFL start during his rookie season.
When Nagy departed for Chicago the following season, the groundwork from the previous year was laid out for Mahomes’ first season as the Chiefs’ starting QB. Taking the league by storm, Mahomes went on to have a record-setting 2018 campaign that ended with him passing for over 5,000 yards and 50 TDs and winning the league’s MVP award.
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The following season in 2019, Mahomes’ Chiefs were scheduled to play against Nagy’s Bears. During a pregame press conference with reporters, Mahomes touched more on Nagy’s impact on him having so much early success.
“Obviously he was an awesome, awesome coach, and he helped me out a ton, helping explain things to me as I was coming from a totally different offense to this one,” Mahomes said of Nagy ahead of the Week 16 matchup against the Bears in 2019. “He really helped me with just presenting it in different ways that I understood and was able to pick up so I could have success whenever I was in practice or in preseason games or the last game of the regular season. I mean, he’s a great human being and a great coach, and he really understands how to get the best out of his quarterback.”
Mahomes credited Nagy’s impact on him once more during the week leading up to Super Bowl LIV.
‘‘Nagy was amazing with me and my transition into the NFL,” Mahomes said ahead of Super Bowl LIV, via the Chicago Sun-Times, “Being able to relate to me, being able to go out there and let me play fast and be who I am.”
The return of Nagy as Mahomes’ QB coach and offensive coordinator Eric Bieniemy, coupled with Head Coach Andy Coach gives the Chiefs’ quarterback three offensive minds that he can work with next season. The 2021 season was definitely Mahome’s worst campaign thus far into his young career. Based on Mahomes’ respect and gratitude towards Nagy, it seems like he’s just the gut that can help Mahomes get back to the form he was in during the 2018 and 2019 campaigns.
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