Kansas City Chiefs coach blasts Trump in fiery rebuke
The continuing fuss over the NFL’s new ‘dynamic kick-off’ rule took a sharp turn this week when Kansas City Chiefs special teams coach Dave Toub delivered a blunt assessment of Donald Trump’s comments on the subject. The US president has made a hobby of criticising the updated format ever since it arrived just before the 2024 season. The reason behind its introduction being that it’s supposed to be safer and cut down on concussions. (Picture: Getty Images)
Trump fired another shot at the new rule during a recent appearance on The Pat McAfee Show. He insisted the updated approach damaged the spectacle of the sport. ‘I think it’s so terrible,’ he said. ‘I think it’s so demeaning, and I think it hurts the game. It hurts the pageantry. 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.’ Chiefs coach Toub was questioned about Trump’s view, and gave a blunt response… (Picture: Getty Images)
During a Thursday press conference, the Super Bowl winning coach suggested Trump might not be the most reliable analyst of special teams strategy. Toub said: ‘He doesn’t even know what he’s looking at. He has no idea what’s going on with the kick-off rule. So take that for what it’s worth. And I hope he hears it.’ (Picture: Getty Images)
The rule that sparked this argument was brought in to cut down the alarming number of high speed collisions associated with kick-offs. The NFL had previously described the previous injury rate from kick off as ‘unacceptable’. The new set-up also encourages more returns instead of the dreary fair catch routine. To help that along, the kicking team now lines up on the opposition 40 yard line rather than behind their own kicker. They are not allowed to move until the ball touches the ground or a player inside the designated landing zone. (Picture: Getty Images/iStockphoto)
That landing zone stretches from the receiving team’s goal line to the 20 yard line. Any kick that drops in that area must be brought back. It was rolled out after years of smaller tweaks to the practice back in 2011, 2016 and 2018. Those older adjustments reduced the ugly collisions but led to a sharp rise in touchbacks. Fans complained that returns were disappearing altogether. Coaches argued the play was losing its tactical spark. Some analysts even floated the idea of scrapping kick-offs entirely somehow. (Picture: Getty Images)
Trump has stayed fairly busy continuing to voice his disapproval on the matter. Earlier this month he admitted he was waiting to watch his own 60 Minutes interview but still found time for another rant about the revamped play. On Truth Social he wrote: ‘I HATE WATCHING THE NFL’S NEW KICK OFF RULE. IT’S RIDICULOUS — TAKES THE PAGEANTRY AND GLAMOUR AWAY FROM THE GAME, AND DOES NOTHING FOR SAFETY. THEY SHOULD CHANGE BACK TO WHAT IT USED TO BE. HOPEFULLY COLLEGE FOOTBALL WILL NEVER MAKE THIS RIDICULOUS CHANGE! IN THE MEANTIME, I’M GETTING READY TO WATCH PRESIDENT DONALD J. TRUMP (ME!) ON 60 MINUTES.’
Despite the strong opinions from both sides, the data on the rule change has so far done little to help reach a strong conclusion. The Athletic reported that concussion rates per 100 kick-offs have actually climbed to 1.18 during the first seven weeks of the season. At the same stage last year, that figure was 0.09. For kick-offs that are actually returned, the rate has risen to 1.48 per 100. Last season it sat at 0.29. (Picture: Getty Images)
So the debate’s far from settled. Not quite yet, anyway. The data available right now doesn’t include how many concussions per 100 kick-offs occurred in 2023 before the dynamic format arrived. Without that baseline, direct comparisons between the old version and the newest iteration are incomplete. The league argues the short term spike misses the wider context. The NFL has pointed to broader datasets to defend the redesign and maintain that the updated play is safer than it appears in early snapshots. (Picture: Getty Images)
In February, the league published figures showing the concussion rate on kick-offs in 2024 was down 43%, compared to the average rate from 2021 to 2023. That larger window suggests the format may be doing what it was designed to do. Still, early season fluctuations have given critics like Trump more ammunition. (Picture: Getty Images) Add Metro as a Preferred Source on Google Add as preferred source
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