clock menu more-arrow no yes mobile

Filed under:

Report: Matt House leaving Kentucky for Chiefs to become new linebackers coach

A new report shows the Chiefs were able to strike a deal on Monday night.

Oakland Raiders v Kansas City Chiefs Photo by Jamie Squire/Getty Images

The Kansas City Chiefs apparently have their linebackers coach, again. Former Kentucky defensive coordinator Matt House will leave the Wildcats for the Chiefs, per various reports.

Let’s go through the timeline of how it all happened.

On February 8, ESPN’s Field Yates broke the news that the Chiefs were expected to hire Matt House as their linebackers coach.

The next day, FootballScoop tweeted that House instead elected to remain at Kentucky.

A few hours after that tweet, friend of the site, Yahoo! Sports’ Terez Paylor, tweeted out clarification. House wanted to come to Kansas City, but Kentucky wasn’t willing to let him out of his deal.

That changed when the Chiefs became more aggressive in their pursuit.

According to Kentucky Sports Radio, the Chiefs were willing to pay the buyout, allowing House to leave for the Chiefs to become their linebackers coach.

Here’s what our own Craig Stout initially said about House in his article on five candidates who could potentially replace Bob Sutton.

STOUT: A lesser-known name — but an up and coming coaching name — House has been the defensive coordinator at Kentucky for the last two years, transforming that defense into a top 20-ranked national defense.

House has a diverse background, coaching defensive line, linebackers, and defensive backs at the collegiate and NFL level. He helped develop a collegiate Aaron Donald as the defensive line coach at Pittsburgh and looks to have developed a stud pass rusher in Josh Allen this year in Kentucky.

House was a hot name with an ability to run multiple fronts — getting head coaching consideration this offseason at the collegiate level. Reid has shown a propensity to “borrow” from the collegiate level with his play-calls and scheme, and the rest of the NFL is following suit. House has shown the ability to develop and stop the spread offense and produce quality players. If Reid was feeling progressive with his hire, House makes sense.

This will be House’s first NFL job since 2009-11, when he was the quality control coach and assistant linebackers coach for the St. Louis Rams under Spagnuolo.

House had stints with the University of Pittsburgh and Florida International before eventually landing in Kentucky and now the Chiefs.

Arrowhead Pride Premier

Sign up now for a 7-day free trial of Arrowhead Pride Premier, with exclusive updates from Pete Sweeney on the ground at Arrowhead, instant reactions after each game, and in-depth Chiefs analysis from film expert Jon Ledyard.