KANSAS CITY, Mo. — With the possibility that Chiefs offensive coordinator Matt Nagy may depart for a head coaching job or even a position as offensive coordinator with another team, quarterback Patrick Mahomes has ideas about the next coach who might take charge of the Kansas City offense.
“Obviously, there’s names out there, but I think with especially how many vacancies there is at the head coaching job, you kind of have to let that all play out to see how you kind of build the staff,” Mahomes said Thursday during his first press conference since undergoing surgery for a torn ACL last month.
“But I know Coach (Andy) Reid, if Coach Nags is able to get another job, head coaching job, that he’ll have a good plan of who he wants to bring in.”
As of Thursday afternoon, there are eight head coaching vacancies in the NFL after the New York Giants landed John Harbaugh as their new coach. In addition to the nine teams parting ways with their head coach, there are four other clubs without an offensive coordinator. If Nagy and others were to land head coaching positions, the number of coordinator vacancies could continue to grow.
Mahomes didn’t identify any specific coaches he’d like to succeed Nagy if he leaves, but there are a few obvious connections. Mike Kafka, who served as interim head coach for the Giants, served with the Chiefs from 2017-2021. As a quality control coach in 2017, he worked closely with Mahomes during his rookie season. He then spent four seasons as quarterback coach with Mahomes and the Chiefs, later adding the passing game coordinator title to his resume.
Kliff Kingsbury, who spent last season as offensive coordinator for Washington, is another candidate with ties to Mahomes. He was the head coach who recruited Mahomes to Texas Tech and developed him into a first-round draft pick.
Former Miami Dolphins coach Mike McDaniel is also considered a potential target, as is Los Angeles Rams pass game coordinator Nathan Scheelhaase, who had a prolific quarterback career at Rockhurst High School in Kansas City.
While Mahomes didn’t endorse any specific candidates, he did identify traits he would like to see in a potential Nagy replacement, if the need arises.
“For me, I just want someone that loves football, that cares about football, that wants to get everything they can to win, to hold people accountable, and then to bring new ideas every single day,” Mahomes said. “I think that’s something that we have to continue to do if you want to continue to be great in this league, you have to continue to evolve and get better and better.”
Kansas City’s offense was inconsistent during the last three seasons with Nagy at offensive coordinator. The Chiefs won back-to-back Super Bowls in 2022 and 2023 with an offense that ranked No. 15 in scoring in both seasons. That ranking fell to No. 21 last season, and the team’s yardage ranks dropped from No. 9 to No. 16 to No. 20 during the last three seasons.
Despite the mixed results, Mahomes praised Nagy for giving him “ideas to be better as a person, as a quarterback.” He believes Nagy possesses the skills necessary to lead an NFL organization.
“Yeah, I mean, I love Coach Nagy, and he’s done a lot of great things in my career to help me become the quarterback that I am,” Mahomes said. “And I know that he’s looking to take that step and get back to the head coaching spot, and I hope he gets another opportunity to do that.”
Regardless of whether Nagy departs, the Chiefs’ offensive coaching staff will already have a different look in 2026. The team has parted ways with wide receivers coach Conner Embree and running backs coach Todd Pinkston. Additional changes remain a possibility, a source informed Chiefs Digest.com.
With these changes coming, Mahomes made it clear Thursday that the Chiefs’ offense needs less predictability with more explosiveness and consistency.
“And that’s something that we’ll try to do here,” Mahomes said. “And I want to get back to that winning culture of being accountable to each other and going out there and playing great football every single day, practice or game.”
