The New York Giants‘ hiring of head coach John Harbaugh has a lot of fans fired up. But it is arguably up to Harbaugh’s top offensive assistant to determine how successful the Harbaugh tenure will be.
So first-year offensive coordinator Matt Nagy is under the microscope, and The Athletic’s Ted Nguyen analyzed what Nagy and quarterback Jaxson Dart need to align on to have success in 2026.
Nagy, a Bound Brook, New Jersey native, is coming over after being let go by the Kansas City Chiefs after four seasons, three of which he spent as offensive coordinator. Harbaugh, who was named Giants head coach in January, hired Nagy as offensive coordinator in February.
Nguyen broke down what each of the 11 veteran QB/new offensive coordinator combos need to do to have success in The Athletic on Wednesday.
Matt Nagy Needs to Adjust to Jaxson Dart’s Strengths
The Giants have had an exciting offseason. Yet, with the 2026 NFL season starting Tuesday, with mandatory offseason workouts, Nagy’s work with Dart is only just beginning.
Nguyen referred to Harbaugh’s first goal of hiring Todd Monken, before the Cleveland Browns named him their head coach. Harbaugh went to Nagy, the former Chicago Bears head coach and two-time Super Bowl champion under Andy Reid.
“The biggest concern with Nagy isnât his failure as a head coach a few years ago, but with the system heâs bringing to New York,” Nguyen wrote. “Kansas Cityâs offensive system has grown stale. The Chiefsâ insistence on staying in shotgun and relying on pass-heavy scripts plays right into the defensive trend of playing light boxes and two-deep defenses.
“When they did run the ball, they just ran the same run/pass option (RPO) plays over and over.”
Dart has been compared to Nagy’s previous QB, Patrick Mahomes, but Nguyen feels Nagy will need to get more creative with the Giants.
“Ideally, Nagy will run a more multiple offense for Dart and not just try to install the Chiefs offense in New York,” Nguyen wrote.
The Giants Have the Personnel to Stay Balanced Under Matt Nagy
The NFL world is about to find out whether it was Nagy who was old and stale or the Chiefs’ personnel that did in 2025.
With Mahomes and tight end Travis Kelce, the Chiefs were able to get to the Super Bowl in three straight seasons between 2022-24.
But KC’s offense struggled, in part due to Rashee Rice’s six-game suspension, Xavier Worthy’s unreliable play and the fact the Chiefs were tied for 20th in the NFL in rushing-yard per play (4.2) — since Isiah Pacheco was limited to just 13 games due to a knee injury.
But the Giants offensive personnel is built to be balanced. They were fifth in the NFL in rushing yards per game (129.1), with Dart a more mobile option than Mahomes at this point in their careers.
The Giants, of course, must protect Dart, who was third among quarterbacks in rushing yards last season (487) and averaged almost six yards per carry. But with the Giants’ three-headed RB monster of Cam Skattebo, Tyrone Tracy and Devin Singletary is superior to the Chiefs’ RBs room last year, and that should lead to more balance than the Chiefs achieved.
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