President Donald Trump waded into the revised kickoff rules in the NFL. Chiefs special teams coach Dave Toub would gladly usher him right back out of the conversation.
Toub, 63, said Trump’s critique doesn’t hold much weight.
“He doesn’t even know what he’s looking at. He has no idea what’s going on with the kickoff rule,” Toub said. “Take that for what it’s worth. I hope he hears it.”
The NFL altered kickoff rules in back-to-back offseasons to address player safety and increase frequency of kickoffs. Concussions were the major injury concern and the league data showed a reduction of documented head injuries on kickoffs of nearly 43% in the first year of using the dynamic kickoff.
Trump claimed the changes are no safer and appeared on the “Pat McAfee Show” to share his opinion with the former Indianapolis Colts special teamer, calling the NFL kickoff “terrible” and “demeaning.”
“I hate the kickoff in football,” Trump said in the interview aired last week.
“I think it’s so terrible. I think it’s so demeaning. I think it hurts the game, it hurts the pageantry. I’ve told that to Roger Goodell. And I don’t think it’s any safer. I mean, you still have guys crashing into each other. It’s the opposite of what the game — the ball is in the air, nobody’s moving. It’s supposed to be when the ball is in the air, when the ball is played, you’re supposed to be moving. The pageantry of the game is so badly hurt.”
Toub, who also serves as assistant head coach to Andy Reid, has been with the Chiefs for 13 seasons. One of his prized pupils has been kicker and vocal Trump supporter Harrison Butker, a 2017 draft pick who developed into one of the franchise’s top three point-scorers. Butker and professional golfer Bryson DeChambeau were among athletes at the White House in July to announce the return of the Presidential Physical Fitness standards in public schools.
