Kansas City Chiefs special teams coordinator Dave Toub made it clear he has little time for President Donald Trump’s criticism of the NFL’s revamped kickoff rules, insisting the former president doesn’t understand the mechanics of the play.
Toub, one of the league’s most respected special teams voices after more than 20 years coaching units in Chicago and Kansas City, offered an unusually fiery response when asked on Thursday about Trump’s recent comments.
“He doesn’t even know what he’s looking at. He has no idea what’s going on with the kickoff rule,” Toub said, raising his voice. “So take that for what it’s worth. And I hope he hears it.”
Trump had attended a regular-season NFL game earlier in the week – the first sitting president to do so since Jimmy Carter in 1978 – before joining “The Pat McAfee Show” on November 11.
During the appearance, he took aim at the league’s updated kickoff format, which team owners voted to keep in place permanently this year.
“I think it’s so terrible. I think it’s so demeaning, and I think it hurts the game. It hurts the pageantry,” Trump said. “I’ve told that to [NFL commissioner] Roger Goodell, and I don’t think it’s any safer. I mean, you still have guys crashing into each other.”
The league introduced the revamped setup in an effort to reduce high-speed collisions while encouraging more returns.
Under the updated structure, the kickoff still originates from the 35-yard line, but coverage players must remain on the 40 until the ball touches the ground or is fielded by a returner inside the 20.
