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The Tennessee Titans conducted an interview with Matt Nagy for their head coaching vacancy. Here's everything you need to know about the Titans' coaching candidate.
Nagy, 47, is in his second stint as Kansas City Chiefs offensive coordinator. The two stints bookend Nagy’s four-year run as head coach of the Chicago Bears, a tenure in which Nagy’s teams went 34-31 with two playoff appearances and one division title. Nagy never won a playoff game in Chicago, but he was named the NFL’s Coach of the Year in 2018, his debut season, for going 12-4.
A long-time Andy Reid assistant dating back to Reid’s time in Philadelphia, Nagy worked his way up Reid’s ladder from intern to quality control assistant to quarterbacks coach and finally to offensive coordinator. Nagy was the Chiefs’ offensive coordinator during the Alex Smith years; he’d left for Chicago before Patrick Mahomes emerged as a perennial MVP candidate and Super Bowl winner. After Nagy’s Chicago tenure ended, he returned to Kansas City, first as a senior assistant, then against as offensive coordinator beginning in 2023.
Nagy arrived in Chicago in 2018, inheriting second-year quarterback Mitchell Trubisky and a defense led by returning defensive coordinator Vic Fangio. Trubisky took a major step forward in Year 1 under Nagy, increasing his passer rating by 18 points, his completion percentage by 7% and his yards per game by 47. Trubisky earned a Pro Bowl nod for the campaign, and the Bears cruised into the playoffs, albeit with more thanks to the NFL’s No. 1 defense by yards allowed per play than the NFL’s No. 20 offense in the same metric.
Trubisky never fully recaptured the highs of his 2018 season, and the Bears offense scuffled over the next few seasons. Chicago ranked ninth in the NFL in scoring offense in 2018, but followed that by ranking 29th in 2019, 22nd in 2020 and 27th in 2021. The Bears’ choice to move on from Trubisky and use a first-round pick on Justin Fields didn’t save Nagy’s tail; Fields went 2-8 as a starter as a rookie and Nagy was fired at season’s end.
The fact that neither Trubisky nor Fields has gone on to much success after leaving Nagy’s system is a minor consolation. It’d be easier to blame him for the ineffectiveness of his quarterbacks had either went on to be prominent starters elsewhere in the way that retreads from that same period like Sam Darnold, Baker Mayfield, Jared Goff and Geno Smith have been able to.
In an interview published near the end of the 2025 season, Nagy said he wouldn’t call offensive plays if hired as a head coach for the second time, preferring to lead in more of a CEO role.
Nagy has a plethora of experience working alongside Titans GM Mike Borgonzi. Borgonzi was an executive in Kansas City during both of Nagy’s runs with the Chiefs, and in that interview published before the season’s end, Nagy relayed the fact that he helped Borgonzi prepare for his interview with the Titans before Borgonzi was hired.
The Titans fired former coach Brian Callahan in October after a 1-5 start to the 2025 season that followed a 3-14 debut year in 2024. Under interim coach Mike McCoy, the Titans finished the 2025 season with another 3-14 record and earned the No. 4 pick in the 2026 NFL Draft.
The Titans have announced completed head coach interviews with the following candidates:
The Titans have also scheduled interviews with or requested interviews from the following candidates: Former Cowboys coach Mike McCarthy, Los Angeles Chargers defensive coordinator Jesse Minter, Los Angeles Rams defensive coordinator Chris Shula, former Atlanta Falcons coach Raheem Morris, former Miami Dolphins coach Mike McDaniel, Pittsburgh Steelers offensive coordinator Arthur Smith, Green Bay Packers defensive coordinator Jeff Hafley and San Francisco 49ers defensive coordinator Robert Saleh.
Nick Suss is the Titans beat writer for The Tennessean. Contact Nick at [email protected]. Follow Nick on X @nicksuss. Subscribe to the Talkin’ Titans newsletter for updates sent directly to your inbox.
This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Tennessee Titans coaching search: Pros, cons of Matt Nagy as candidate
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Nagy, 47, is in his second stint as Kansas City Chiefs offensive coordinator. The two stints bookend Nagy’s four-year run as head coach of the Chicago Bears, a tenure in which Nagy’s teams went 34-31 with two playoff appearances and one division title. Nagy never won a playoff game in Chicago, but he was named the NFL’s Coach of the Year in 2018, his debut season, for going 12-4.
A long-time Andy Reid assistant dating back to Reid’s time in Philadelphia, Nagy worked his way up Reid’s ladder from intern to quality control assistant to quarterbacks coach and finally to offensive coordinator. Nagy was the Chiefs’ offensive coordinator during the Alex Smith years; he’d left for Chicago before Patrick Mahomes emerged as a perennial MVP candidate and Super Bowl winner. After Nagy’s Chicago tenure ended, he returned to Kansas City, first as a senior assistant, then against as offensive coordinator beginning in 2023.
Matt Nagy coaching resume
Nagy arrived in Chicago in 2018, inheriting second-year quarterback Mitchell Trubisky and a defense led by returning defensive coordinator Vic Fangio. Trubisky took a major step forward in Year 1 under Nagy, increasing his passer rating by 18 points, his completion percentage by 7% and his yards per game by 47. Trubisky earned a Pro Bowl nod for the campaign, and the Bears cruised into the playoffs, albeit with more thanks to the NFL’s No. 1 defense by yards allowed per play than the NFL’s No. 20 offense in the same metric.
Trubisky never fully recaptured the highs of his 2018 season, and the Bears offense scuffled over the next few seasons. Chicago ranked ninth in the NFL in scoring offense in 2018, but followed that by ranking 29th in 2019, 22nd in 2020 and 27th in 2021. The Bears’ choice to move on from Trubisky and use a first-round pick on Justin Fields didn’t save Nagy’s tail; Fields went 2-8 as a starter as a rookie and Nagy was fired at season’s end.
The fact that neither Trubisky nor Fields has gone on to much success after leaving Nagy’s system is a minor consolation. It’d be easier to blame him for the ineffectiveness of his quarterbacks had either went on to be prominent starters elsewhere in the way that retreads from that same period like Sam Darnold, Baker Mayfield, Jared Goff and Geno Smith have been able to.
Matt Nagy to Titans? The obvious connections
In an interview published near the end of the 2025 season, Nagy said he wouldn’t call offensive plays if hired as a head coach for the second time, preferring to lead in more of a CEO role.
Nagy has a plethora of experience working alongside Titans GM Mike Borgonzi. Borgonzi was an executive in Kansas City during both of Nagy’s runs with the Chiefs, and in that interview published before the season’s end, Nagy relayed the fact that he helped Borgonzi prepare for his interview with the Titans before Borgonzi was hired.
The Titans fired former coach Brian Callahan in October after a 1-5 start to the 2025 season that followed a 3-14 debut year in 2024. Under interim coach Mike McCoy, the Titans finished the 2025 season with another 3-14 record and earned the No. 4 pick in the 2026 NFL Draft.
Titans coaching search candidates, info
The Titans have announced completed head coach interviews with the following candidates:
- Matt Nagy, Chiefs OC
- Lou Anarumo, Colts DC
- Steve Spagnuolo, Chiefs DC
- Vance Joseph, Broncos DC
- Kevin Stefanski, former Browns HC
- Jason Garrett, former Cowboys HC
- Mike McCoy, Titans interim HC
The Titans have also scheduled interviews with or requested interviews from the following candidates: Former Cowboys coach Mike McCarthy, Los Angeles Chargers defensive coordinator Jesse Minter, Los Angeles Rams defensive coordinator Chris Shula, former Atlanta Falcons coach Raheem Morris, former Miami Dolphins coach Mike McDaniel, Pittsburgh Steelers offensive coordinator Arthur Smith, Green Bay Packers defensive coordinator Jeff Hafley and San Francisco 49ers defensive coordinator Robert Saleh.
Nick Suss is the Titans beat writer for The Tennessean. Contact Nick at [email protected]. Follow Nick on X @nicksuss. Subscribe to the Talkin’ Titans newsletter for updates sent directly to your inbox.
This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Tennessee Titans coaching search: Pros, cons of Matt Nagy as candidate
Continue reading...
