Kansas City Chiefs’ special teams coordinator Dave Toub fired back at President Donald Trump’s criticism of the new NFL kickoff rule.
Toub said, “He doesn’t even know what he’s looking at. He has no idea what’s going on. Take that for what it’s worth. And I hope he hears it.”
Trump lambasted the new format as “sissy football” and “bad for America.”
These comments come amid the heated debate over the league’s attempt to make kickoffs safer and more dynamic.
The remarks were captured in an interview posted by MySportsUpdate on X.
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New rule, old controversy
The NFL’s new kickoff rule was introduced in the 2024 season and made permanent for 2025. The rule repositioned players so the kicking team lines up on one half of the field and the return team on the other half, a little behind in the field. This is specifically intended to reduce high-speed collisions and encourage more returns.
According to reporting from The Washington Post, kickoff return rates soared to 76.9% through Week 2 of 2025, up from just 32.8% the year before.
Trump, however, has been a vocal critic of the change. On his platform Truth Social, he described the format as “ridiculous” and complained that “the ball is moving, and the players are not….the exact opposite of what football is all about.”
In his recent interview on The Pat McAfee Show, Trump tells McAfee, “I think it’s so demeaning, and 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.”
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Players and coaches believe rule less aesthetic than functional
NFL players and coaches like Toub’s perspective on the kickoff rule is more functional than aesthetic. The league has pointed to reduced injury rates and increased return attempts as proof of its efficacy.
Arrowhead Pride reported Toub’s own unit at the Kansas City Chiefs has been adjusting accordingly, with an emphasis on return specialists and coached execution rather than just speed.
He told reporters that the team is still fine-tuning its strategy under the new format.
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