Written In Blue: Matt Nagy hire says more about John Harbaugh than the offense

Well, there you have it. John Harbaugh has officially hired an offensive coordinator and is continuing to fill out his coaching staff, and many people, myself included, aren’t yet sure what to make of it.

The Giants are hiring former Kansas City Chiefs offensive coordinator Matt Nagy as their offensive coordinator, per ESPN’s Adam Schefter.

I’m not going to lie. Initially, I wasn’t hyped about this hire at all. Nagy felt like the Giants’ third or fourth choice for their OC job, with Todd Monken being the obvious favorite before landing the Browns' head coaching job, followed by Davis Webb, who is now the Broncos' offensive coordinator, then Charlie Weis Jr., Jaxson Dart’s OC at Ole Miss, followed Lane Kiffin to LSU and didn't want to leave, and Kliff Kingsbury was also in the mix.

Honestly, Nagy’s name wasn’t really coming up as a significant candidate in the search. But in Harbaugh, we trust, and as Giants fans, we have to be optimistic that our new head coach is making the right decisions to change the culture and help us return to our winning ways.

I think a lot of Giants fans, myself included, focus too much on Nagy’s time as the Bears head coach, which admittedly wasn’t all that impressive. But it’s also worth remembering that he wasn’t working with elite quarterback talent, spending most of that time trying to make things work with Mitch Trubisky and only briefly coaching Justin Fields.

Related: Matt Nagy hire just said exactly what John Harbaugh thinks of Jaxson Dart

All things considered, Trubisky went 25-13 as a starter under the 47-year-old, which isn’t too shabby. Not to mention, he won NFL Coach of the Year in his first season as head coach of the Bears with Trubisky as his quarterback before everything went downhill for him and the franchise.

If you focus on what Nagy did in Kansas City, the picture looks a lot better. He helped develop Alex Smith, worked closely with Patrick Mahomes, and spent 14 total years under Andy Reid across two stints with the Chiefs. Along the way, he was part of two Super Bowl wins as a quarterbacks coach and offensive coordinator.

Both Nagy and Harbaugh have ties to Reid. Harbaugh even considers him a mentor, and according to Giants insider Gary Myers, Reid has been "talking up" Matt Nagy, which could've influenced Harbaugh’s decision to hire him:

I mean, let’s face it, if Andy Reid recommended you hire someone, you listen.

Why is this important? Harbs was looking for experience, and he got that with Nagy. His work as a QB coach and OC, working with Smith and Mahomes in KC, is why you make this hire. Nagy is here for Jaxson Dart’s development, which, of course, he’ll look to replicate the Chiefs’ blueprint for the second-year signal caller.

On top of that, Nagy’s a New Jersey native and a former quarterback himself, playing collegiately at the University of Delaware, which means his local ties should definitely benefit the G-Men and Dart nonethless. Still, the key is that even after his disappointing tenure with the Bears, he continues to land jobs in the NFL and has proven he can win at the highest level.

So what if it wasn’t the first, second, or even third choice? Matt Nagy is still a coach with plenty of NFL experience, and now he’s here to help Jaxson Dart take the next step while giving John Harbaugh a trusted offensive voice in his first year.

Consider it “Written In Blue.”

More Written in Blue

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