Josh Gordon's chances, 'The Auditor' Matt Nagy | KCSN Daily 8.10
Josh Gordon's chances, 'The Auditor' Matt Nagy | KCSN Daily 8.10
Top Chiefs stories while the team gets a day off from training camp
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The Chiefs have the day off of practice at training camp on Wednesday, Aug. 10, but they’ll be back at it tomorrow for their final practice of the week prior to traveling to Chicago to face the Bears in preseason Week 1. The first preseason game will provide an opportunity for many players to make their case for the 53-man roster. For one coach on the team, the trip to Chicago will elicit some emotions.
KCSN Update:
Preseason is key to Josh Gordon making the Chiefs’ 53-man roster
The competition in the receiver room in Kansas City is fierce.
There are 14 players vying for, at most, a half-dozen spots on the Chiefs’ 53-man roster. For veteran WR Josh Gordon, a look at the team’s first unofficial depth chart might evoke fear that he’s on the outside looking in. There is no sense of panic for Gordon, though. He’s working to make the most of his opportunity and that starts with building greater chemistry with QB Patrick Mahomes.
“There’s definitely a rapport to be built on,” Gordon told reporters on Aug. 8. “We didn’t have that last year, really at all. This offseason has been our first opportunity to do that. Coach Reid and our offensive coordinator (Eric Bieniemy) have given me that opportunity to try and get to that point with (Patrick Mahomes). We’ve got some time left here before the preseason, so maybe we’ll see what happens, and hopefully, I do enough to make the team.”
Gordon’s repetitions with the first-team offense have been few during training camp practices, but he’s snagged a few passes from Mahomes. He’s mostly worked with Chad Henne and the second-team offense. Gordon knows that the opportunity to make an impression during the preseason could make all the difference in his chances, no matter what quarterback he’s working with.
“That’s when it’s time to do what we get asked to do,” Gordon said of the preseason. “That’s what I came here to do. When the lights are on — I want to do it at practice first for sure — but you can’t always get it right in practice. You don’t always have the time, the reps, the opportunity. You’ve got to take the mental reps and what’s based on the opportunity I have and then just go show improvement. So, come the preseason games, that’s what I hope to do.”
Whatever happens in the preseason and come final roster cuts, Gordon is at ease. After all of his trials and tribulations throughout his career, it’s clear that he’s happy to have an opportunity to compete and play the game that he loves.
What does Matt Nagy bring to Kansas City?
Ahead of the Chiefs’ first preseason game in Chicago, senior offensive assistant and QB coach Matt Nagy is in a good place. At training camp on Tuesday, he was overcome with gratitude as fans chanted his name and tried to score his signature ahead of practice.
“Yeah, it’s very welcoming,” Nagy told reporters on Aug. 9. “It doesn’t surprise me, they’re very passionate, they love their football. We had some great times here, great experiences. The last four years here of me not being here and what Coach (Andy) Reid, (Brett) Veach (General Manager), Patrick (Mahomes), and EB (Eric Bieniemy) and the rest of this crew have done is nothing short of amazing, but I think we had a lot of good times up to that point and now I’m back and I appreciate that, and it means a lot to me.”
It’s quite the juxtaposition when you consider that less than a year ago, Bears fans were chanting “Fire Nagy” during games and hoping for his removal as their head coach. They got their wish, and Nagy jumped at the opportunity to come back to the Chiefs, where he’d coached for five seasons prior.
Ahead of his return to Soldier Field this weekend, Nagy was candid with reporters about how he felt.
“I don’t know how I’ll feel when I get out there,” Nagy explained. “But I’m here for this team.”
Nagy’s focus remains on Kansas City and putting the team in the best position to succeed. What exactly does that job look like, though? Chiefs WR coach Joe Bleymaier referred to Nagy as an auditor.
“I think it does help,” Bleymaier said. “Matt (Nagy) can ask questions about what we’ve changed since he’s been gone and why. So then, we can go back to the fundamentals and foundation of what we’re doing and talk about the progressions that we’ve gone to. And then, really we can revisit whether it’s still valid. Should we go back to things we’ve done before, (should we) keep where we’ve progressed, and are all the same assumptions that we’ve made holding true at this point in time? So, it has been a good discussion and dialogue, having him knowing the foundation of where he left and where we are now and kind of just bridge where we want to go.”
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Nagy brings an outside set of eyes, with an understanding of the core principles of Reid’s offense from when he was previously the team’s offensive coordinator. He also brings everything he learned during his tenure as head coach in Chicago. That insight should prove valuable as the Chiefs tweak their offensive approach post-Tyreek Hill.
Important dates ahead:
Saturday, Aug. 13 - Preseason Week 1: Chiefs @ Bears - Noon CT - Chicago, Illinois at Soldier Field
Tuesday, Aug. 16 - Roster cuts wave 1 - 90 to 85 players
Saturday, Aug. 20 - Preseason Week 2: Chiefs vs. Commanders - 3:00 p.m. CT - Kansas City, Missouri at Arrowhead Stadium
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