Kansas City Chiefs Special Teams Coordinator Dave Toub Rips President Donald Trump
If there is one rule in the NFL, it’s that special teams coordinators are usually the guys you don’t hear from unless something goes spectacularly wrong. But Dave Toub, the longtime special teams coordinator for the Kansas City Chiefs, decided to break character this week.
Why? Because President Donald Trump decided to play armchair quarterback on national television.
The Commander-in-Chief vs. The Special Teams Guru
It started when Trump made an appearance on “The Pat McAfee Show.” Never one to shy away from a controversial opinion, the president decided to tear into the NFL’s new “dynamic kickoff” rule. He didn’t hold back, calling the new format “terrible” and “demeaning.” He even lamented the loss of “pageantry,” arguing that the new setup, where players stand relatively still until the ball is touched, just looks like guys standing around doing nothing.
“I don’t think it’s any safer,” Trump told McAfee, claiming he’s even complained directly to Commissioner Roger Goodell about it. For a guy like Toub, who has spent over two decades in the NFL trenches turning special teams into a weapon, hearing a politician critique the geometry of a kickoff return was apparently the last straw.
A Chiefs Coach Defends the Game
Toub is widely regarded as one of the best in the business. He’s not known for soundbites; he’s known for field position. But when reporters asked the Chiefs assistant coach about Trump’s comments, Toub didn’t offer a diplomatic “no comment.” He went on the offensive.
“He doesn’t even know what he’s looking at,” Toub said. “He has no idea what’s going on with the kickoff rule. So take that for what it’s worth. And I hope he hears it.”
It is a rare moment of candid frustration. Coaches usually treat political questions like a fumble—they dive away from them. But this wasn’t about politics for Toub; it was about the integrity of the game he teaches every single day.
The Reality Of the Dynamic Kickoff
Here is the irony: The Chiefs and the rest of the league adopted these rules specifically to make the game more exciting, not less. The old rules resulted in endless touchbacks. The new rules are actually working. Returns are up significantly this season, and the data shows that the high-speed collisions that cause concussions are down.
When Trump says “nobody is moving,” he’s reacting to the setup. But when Toub looks at the same play, he sees a complex chess match of leverage and blocking angles that is safer for his players.
Stick To the Sidelines
There is something objectively funny about the Chiefs’ special teams coach telling a president that he simply doesn’t understand the X’s and O’s. It’s a reminder that in the NFL, status doesn’t matter if you don’t know the playbook.
Toub essentially told the president to stay in his lane. The Chiefs have a Super Bowl to chase, and Toub has kick coverage lanes to organize. He doesn’t have time for critiques from the cheap seats. Even if that seat is in the Oval Office.
