After a frustrating 2025 season that saw the Kansas City Chiefs uncharacteristically miss the postseason, Head Coach Andy Reid is aggressively overhauling his coaching staff. One of the most telling moves involved veteran coach Matt House. Earlier this offseason, Reid “played defense” by blocking other teams from interviewing House, a move that signaled a major promotion was in the huddle. As expected, House has officially been named the Chiefs’ new Outside Linebackers (OLB) Coach.

However, former Chiefs All-Pro tackle Mitchell Schwartz is throwing a ‘challenge flag’ on how these coaching roles are being split up.

“I never quite realized the staff was broken down this way, but it’s odd to have Inside LBs and Outside LBs separated with a base 4-3 alignment. And then Nickel is 4-2. So basically Bolton gets one coach and everyone else gets the other? (I know they’re just titles but still),” Schwartz pointed out on his X account.

Schwartz expressed confusion over why the team needs separate coaches for inside and outside linebackers when they primarily run a 4-3 base defense. In his view, the math on the depth chart doesn’t quite add up, especially since the modern NFL rarely stays in that traditional base look.

The core of the issue is that the Chiefs, like most teams, spend about 70-80% of the game in a “Nickel” package, which is a 4-2-5 alignment. This removes one linebacker to add a fifth defensive back to help in coverage. When the team is in Nickel, there are only two linebackers on the gridiron. 

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Under this coaching structure, the Inside Linebackers Coach would focus entirely on one player, star “Mike” linebacker Nick Bolton, while the Outside Linebackers Coach handles the only other linebacker on the field.

Schwartz points out that this creates a “lopsided” workload for the staff. To him, it seems “odd” to have two high-level coaches assigned to a position group with only two active players for most snaps. 

While he acknowledged these might just be formal titles on a roster, he suggested that in a typical 4-2 alignment, those two linebackers usually work as a tandem and could easily be overseen by a single coach. But either way, he has already stepped into his role.

Kansas City has a proven defensive leader returning to its team for another season

Matt House is a veteran football coach with over two decades of experience, primarily focusing on building elite defenses. He has built an impressive resume as a defensive coordinator at the college level, leading the units for the Pittsburgh Panthers, FIU Panthers, Kentucky Wildcats, and the LSU Tigers. During his time at LSU, he led one of the strongest defensive units in the country, which eventually caught the attention of the NFL.

The House has a deep history with the Kansas City Chiefs and head coach Andy Reid. He first worked for the team from 2019 to 2021 as the linebackers coach, helping the defense during a very successful championship run.

After a few years away, including a productive 2024 season with the Jacksonville Jaguars, where his players Devin Lloyd and Foyesade Oluokun combined to record over 200 tackles, House returned to Kansas City in 2025.

Throughout the 2025 season, House served as the Chiefs’ senior defensive assistant, working side-by-side with defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo. His veteran presence was vital during a year of transition for the team. His performance in that role was so highly valued that, following the 2025 campaign, the Chiefs took the rare step of blocking multiple interview requests from other teams that wanted him for defensive coordinator openings.

Now, heading into the 2026 season, House has officially been promoted to Outside Linebackers Coach. With fans and the front office expecting that he will continue to anchor the Chiefs’ defense. House’s proven track record of developing All-Pro talent makes him the ideal leader for the next chapter of the Chiefs’ defense.