After a demoralizing 1-5 start, the Tennessee Titans became the first team to fire their coach this season, as they let Brian Callahan go on Monday. Now that the post is vacant, one of the prominent names emerging to fill the void is the Kansas City Chiefs’ offensive coordinator Matt Nagy. The OC, for his part, is interested, but he isn’t exactly jumping at the opportunity.

“I have been through this situation before,” he told reporters, referring to how this isn’t the first time he has been linked to the job. “And I think it’s very, very important knowing that you gotta figure out how to navigate it, and so every coach is a little bit different on how they do that. For me, going through it before what I have learnt is you gonna make sure that you are preparing the right way, and when you prepare, that’s in the offseason. That said, it is very, very important you stay in the moment and you don’t lose focus on anything else,” Nagy said.

And because he doesn’t want to lose focus, he’s going to choose to stay true to his current responsibilities. That is, until it’s the right time to move on.

“When the time does come, you look forward to it, but the time is not right now.”

That could mean that Nagy might go for it once the ongoing season is done and dusted. But then again, it could be too late, considering interim head coach Mike McCoy might end up getting the job. After all, that was the case with the last three interim coaches of the Tennessee franchise.

Nagy’s name came under the spotlight after NFL Insider Ian Rapoport suggested him as a good fit for the position, alongside Pittsburgh Steelers offensive coordinator Arthur Smith. 

“I would say Matt Nagy, who worked with Mike Burgundy in Kansas City, certainly would be a name to watch. The decorated Chiefs’ offensive coordinator. Then Arthur Smith, the former Falcons head coach, also a former OC in Tennessee.”

Meanwhile, Titans’ QB Cam Ward has also shared what he wants in a head coach.

“Somebody who can really do everything from top to bottom, and that’s both sides of the ball—offense, defense,” Ward said Wednesday. “They know the system in and out, and I think the biggest thing is how is the coach going to be with the players.” 

Nagy served as the head coach of the Chicago Bears from 2018 to 2021. He finished with a 12-4 record, which earned him the NFL Coach of the Year award in 2018.

But all of this went downhill in the following seasons, as he went 22-27 over the next three seasons. After ending up with a 34-31 record, Nagy was fired and rejoined the Chiefs as offensive coordinator in 2022. Since then, he has been with Head Coach Andy Reid, who still sees Nagy as head coach material.

Andy Reid sees Nagy as the head coach

Although Nagy has no hurry in joining the Titans despite his interest, Andy Reid wants Nagy to get a head coaching opportunity.

“I’m his biggest fan — and ‘Spags’ [defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo] likewise,” Reid told reporters. “So, listen, if they have that opportunity, more power to them. … I hope he gets that opportunity, for sure. Tremendous coach and person,” Reid said during a press conference.

Nagy and Reid have a long coaching relationship that spans over a decade, dating back to 2008, when Nagy joined the Philadelphia Eagles as an intern. Andy Reid was the Eagles’ head coach at that time. And when Reid joined the Chiefs as head coach in 2013, he brought Nagy with him as quarterback coach.