Here’s How Last 3 OCs Have Fared After Leaving Chiefs

KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Matt Nagy wanted his own show, either as a head coach or a play-calling offensive coordinator.

He landed in a great spot on Tuesday, reportedly earning the role of John Harbaugh’s first offensive coordinator. A former NFL Coach of the Year, Nagy brings important experience to the job, and the team give Nagy a lot of important positives.

But Nagy will have to battle more than NFC East defenses in 2026. He just joined a club that hasn’t had a great deal of recent success – Andy Reid’s Chiefs offensive coordinators.

Here’s a look at the last three tenures of Chiefs offensive coordinators that left Reid’s Kansas City nest to call their own plays at other NFL teams.

Eric Bieniemy, 2023

Bieniemy’s 2018-22 tenure as Chiefs offensive coordinator, his first stint before Reid rehired him in January, was actually sandwiched between Nagy’s two stints. In other words, the Chiefs have had two individuals serve as OC but four changes since 2017.

Bieniemy helped Kansas City win two of its three Super Bowl berths during his tenure as offensive coordinator. Despite dozens of interviews for head-coach positions, he wasn’t able to secure an offer and decided to leave in order to call his own plays in Washington.

bieniemy howel — Jan 7, 2024; Landover, Maryland, USA; Washington Commanders quarterback Sam Howell (14) talks with Washington Commanders offensive coordinator Eric Bieniemy before the game against the Dallas Cowboys at FedExField. Mandatory Credit: Brad Mills-Imagn Images | Brad Mills-Imagn Images

Ron Rivera hired Bieniemy as the Commanders’ autonomous offensive coordinator in 2023. Washington finished 24th in three important categories: yards, points per game and third-down-conversion percentage.

Sam Howell led the NFL with 612 passing attempts and 21 interceptions. After a 4-13 season in 2023, new Commanders owner Josh Harris fired Rivera and his staff.

nag — Dec 30, 2018; Minneapolis, MN, USA; Chicago Bears head coach Matt Nagy during a game between the Minnesota Vikings and Chicago Bears at U.S. Bank Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Brace Hemmelgarn-Imagn Images | Brace Hemmelgarn-Imagn Images

Nagy, 2018

Nagy spent just one season as Chiefs offensive coordinator in his first stint, 2017, when Kansas City traded up in the draft to select Patrick Mahomes at No. 10 overall. But before Nagy could work with Mahomes as the Chiefs’ starter, he left to become Chicago Bears head coach in 2018, giving himself the opportunity to call his own plays.

Nagy’s tenure as Bears head coach started extremely well but ended badly. He earned Coach of the Year honors after leading Chicago (12-4) to a division title and playoff berth in 2018. Chicago in Year 2, however, plummeted to 29th in both yards and points. The Bears clawed their way to a 2020 playoff berth and an 8-8 finish, but after a 6-11 season in 2021, Chicago jettisoned Nagy.

Like Bieniemy last month, Reid returned Nagy to his staff. Nagy served as Chiefs quarterbacks coach during the Super Bowl championship season of 2022 before replacing Bieniemy in 2023 as offensive coordinator.

Doug Pederson, 2016

After three years (2013-15) as Reid’s offensive coordinator, Pederson left to become head coach of the Philadelphia Eagles. After a last-place, 7-9 finish in his first year, Pederson guided the Eagles to a Super Bowl victory over Tom Brady, Bill Belichick and the Patriots in 2017.

However, after twin 9-7 playoff seasons in 2018 and 2019, including mediocre offensive production, the Eagles fell off a cliff in 2020. After a 4-11-1 season, including a final ranking of 26th in points and 24th in yards, owner Jeffrey Lurie fired Pederson.

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