While Kansas City Chiefs’ assistant defensive line coach Terry Bradden has already accepted a position at the University of Nebraska, Andy Reid’s staff seems to retain most of its members year in and year out. Sure, he lost an offensive coordinator a few years ago, but we all know what Eric Bieniemy’s situation entailed, for better or worse. With the teams’ heaping success, some coaches have remained in Kansas City to be a part of the dynasty.
With the massive scheme shifts in the NFL, Chiefs assistants should become more valuable this offseason. Defensively, the Chiefs have been a step ahead of everyone, while assistants working directly under Andy Reid have a long history of success in the NFL. However, there is a semi-invisible iceberg to the Chiefs losing either of their coordinators.
If the Chiefs win a third Super Bowl in a row, every team in the league will probably want a bit of the magic.
Since his days in Philadelphia, Andy Reid loves to hire people he has worked with before typically under the familiar Mike Holmgren tree. If the OC job became available, I am almost sure that, despite loads of controversy attached to his name, Jon Gruden would be one of the final three candidates because of his association with the legendary 1992 Green Bay Packers staff. Both coordinators currently employed have been head coaches before and coordinators under Reid. Matt Nagy’s return felt like a foregone conclusion after Bieniemy left while Steve Spagnuolo’s reputation has risen like a phoenix in the last few seasons.
Neither is going anywhere, though. Matt Nagy has a wonderful reputation, but he failed on a massive stage like Chicago, putting bad tastes in too many mouths. Being the younger of the two, Nagy has a better chance than Spagnuolo at rectifying his head coaching career, but the offense has struggled with him in EB’s parking spot. The personnel from 2022 (Bieniemy’s last as OC) to 2023 (where Nagy returned to the helm) changed very little but Patrick Mahomes went from tallying the most yards to turning the ball over twice against the Raiders on Christmas. With Ben Johnson and Kliff Kingsbury likely available, “sexier” options for offensive coaches are out there.
As for Spagnuolo, he’s always the bridesmaid. The truth is that Spags has always been better as a coordinator. His tenure as Rams coach made Jeff Fisher look like a quality upgrade to the Kroenkes. He does have four Super Bowls, more than any other coordinator in history, so he has to be respected. The players’ admiration through the “In Spags We Trust” mantra shows that he is incredibly valuable, but Reid seems to have a grit that Spags just doesn’t have (believe it or not).
Of the position coaches and other assistants with targets on their backs, there is only one that comes to mind. Joe Bleymaier is in his ninth season with the Chiefs, one of the longest-tenured coaches on staff. As passing game coordinator, his work has been obvious, especially in the two-minute drill. Even when the Chiefs’ experiments with Worthy or Hardman aren’t working, when the clock stops at 120 seconds, it’s Bleymaier’s efficiency and preparation through the week that turns an anemic offense into a perfectly paced machine. Now, some defensive assistants will get interviews for coordinator jobs, but the only assistant I believe will be successful at his next juncture is Bleymaier.
After this season, the staff could look the same that it has (for the most part) for the last two seasons, but if the Chiefs win a third Super Bowl in a row, every team in the league will probably want a bit of the magic. Even then Andy Reid will probably refill with a bunch of retreads.
