Super Bowl 2025: Kansas City's Matt Nagy, Steve Spagnuolo were asked about Aaron Rodgers in head-coaching interviews with Jets

NEW ORLEANS – Two Super Bowl coordinators who were candidates for the Jets head coaching job said they were asked about Aaron Rodgers during their interviews.

Kansas City offensive coordinator Matt Nagy and defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo said they had open conversations with the Jets about a number of topics. Their opinions on and intentions for Rodgers were discussed.

“That was part of the conversation, which it should have been,” Spagnuolo said. “We addressed it and then we went on to a lot of other things.”

The Jets interviewed 16 candidates for the position that ultimately went to Aaron Glenn. Spagnuolo and Nagy were two of the first people to sit down with the Jets last month. They spoke the week after the regular season ended because Kansas City was the No. 1 seed in the AFC playoffs and had a bye.

Nagy, who was the head coach of the Chicago Bears for four years, knows Rodgers well from playing Green Bay twice a season. Nagy said he felt the Jets were interested in his thoughts on Rodgers, but it’s hard to know everything going on inside the team as an outsider.

“There was a little bit of that,” Nagy said. “It’s only fair that when you go through that process, you want to be open and honest with them. But let’s be real, when you’re somebody like myself who’s not there and you’re so far entrenched with what’s going on with Kansas City, you don’t truly know what’s going on. You’re going to have opinions and stuff.

“Trust me, I know Aaron pretty well. I know what he’s done to us when I was in Chicago. I think he’s a hell of a quarterback, but there’s a lot of stuff that goes on. That’s a process in itself and I don’t think it’s really fair. Coach Glenn’s going to go through that, where they want to go. I have a lot of respect for Aaron Rodgers.”

Glenn and new general manager Darren Mougey are going through the process right now. It’s unclear if Rodgers is in the Jets’ new regime’s plans or whether he wants to play next year. Glenn said he texted Rodgers after getting the Jets’ job and that they would speak about it.

Rodgers, playing in the Waste Management Phoenix Open, said he has “talked to the Jets,” but there’s still no conclusion.

“We’ll figure things out when we figure them out,” Rodgers said.

Nagy and Spagnuolo have good jobs working for Andy Reid and a team chasing its third straight Super Bowl championship on Sunday against the Eagles. They both would like to be head coaches again, though.

Spagnuolo coached the Rams for three seasons when they were still in St Louis. He also served as Giants interim coach for the final four games of the 2017 season after Ben McAdoo was fired.

“I don’t lose a lot of sleep over it,” Spagnuolo said. “It burns inside you. That’s the competitive edge. Love to be able to have our own football team again, but if that never happens, I got a really good job. I’m blessed to be working with these guys, Coach Reid. I don’t lose a lot of sleep over it, but I’m well prepared to do it.”

Nagy said he’d like to run a team again “when the time is right.”

Both men complimented the Jets’ interview process. They spoke highly of their conversation with owner Woody Johnson, and Mike Tannenbaum and Rick Spielman of The 33rd Team, the outside firm hired by the Jets to help the search.

Spagnuolo and Nagy also believe the Jets made a good decision hiring Glenn.

“I was very honored to have them ask to talk,” Spagnuolo said. “It didn’t work out. I’m happy for Aaron Glenn. I think he’ll do a terrific job. I really respect the people there in New York.”

For Nagy, a New Jersey native, it would have been a homecoming. He wished Glenn the best and can relate to what lies ahead of him, having been a head coach for the first time in Chicago.

“I thought they did a great job,” Nagy said. “I thought they made a great hire with Aaron Glenn and what they’re doing. It’s a small fraternity here that we have in this league and you want to be able to see guys have success.

“I’ve been there as a first-time head coach. I’ve been a part of that in a big city with a team that is going through transition. You want them to do well. I have a lot of respect for the Jets organization and how they do things.”

By Al Iannazzone

al.iannazzone@newsday.comAl_Iannazzone

Al Iannazzone covers the Jets for Newsday after spending nearly two decades on the NBA beat with Knicks and Nets.