Why Matt Nagy Doesn't Want Jaxson Dart to Be Patrick Mahomes

The Giants’ new offensive coordinator Matt Nagy arrives in New York after working with Patrick Mahomes in Kansas City for a total of five years (the past four seasons, and then in Mahomes’s rookie year back in 2017).

Now Nagy will work firsthand with young quarterback Jaxson Dart, who is coming off his rookie season where he started 12 games for New York. Dart, after impressing as a rookie, now has a new offensive coordinator with loads of experience to help build him up and stand out in the 2026 season.

Working with the winningest active quarterback in regards to Super Bowls wins would likely impact a coach’s perspective when aiding other quarterbacks in the league. But Nagy is making sure he differentiates his new quarterback from Mahomes. He doesn’t want it to be a comparison game between the two quarterbacks—they are very different in terms of style, experience and success. It’s not worth sitting down and trying to make Dart become Mahomes. In fact, Nagy doesn’t want that to happen at all.

“He's Jaxson Dart. He's not Patrick Mahomes,” Nagy said this week at voluntary workouts, via the New York Post.

The comparisons are only being drawn between the two contrasting quarterbacks because of Nagy’s employment history. He just worked with Mahomes for four straight seasons—it may take him a minute to wipe his experiences with Mahomes from the front of his mind. Nagy shared that he may use some of Mahomes’s training techniques when working with Dart, but that’s where the similarities will end.

"We can use that for more, like, routines and maybe how we did things," Nagy said. "First of all, I know how much respect that Jaxson has for Patrick. We've talked a little bit about the process and what he's been through, but we've also made it clear, you have to be Jaxson Dart. He's going to do that."

Nagy will more than likely draw from his experience as the Bears’ head coach because of his time working with young quarterbacks there. He took over the reigns in Chicago during Mitchell Trubisky’s second league year, similarly to Dart’s position this year. Nagy then worked one season with Justin Fields after the Bears drafted him in 2021. Like Fields, Nagy noted that Dart is impressive in his running game, something he didn’t first see from Dart but wants to tap in to.

“Back then, a year ago or two years ago, I didn't know how tough he was and how good of a runner he was,” Nagy said in regards to watching Dart before the 2025 NFL draft. “He was a really good, sneaky good runner, tough, physical, played the quarterback position well. You could see he was a competitor.”

Regardless of Nagy’s past experiences in the NFL, the Giants OC is excited to partner with Dart in New York in a new era for the team.

“When I got here to New York and got to meet him and started talking to him, you could tell right away that everything was true. This kid is different that way,” Nagy said. “My initial conversation with Coach [John Harbaugh] was, ‘Hey, excited, really looking forward to being able to help out in many ways and building that relationship and that trust.’ I know he had a great year last year, but we want to make it even better and continue to have him grow, and I want to be there to help him.”

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