Dave Toub Expands on Chiefs’ Special Teams Mistakes: ‘A Lot of Work to Do'

With one preseason game down and two to go, Toub explained KC's kickoff mishaps and how everyone is working to correct them.

Nov 5, 2023; Frankfurt, Germany; Kansas City Chiefs special teams coordinator Dave Toub watches from the sidelines against the Miami Dolphins in the second half during an NFL International Series game at Deutsche Bank Park. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports / Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports

While the Kansas City Chiefs made mistakes in all three areas of the game against the Jacksonville Jaguars, special teams was perhaps the most glaring.

In a 26-13 loss on Saturday, not much was going right for the back-to-back Super Bowl champs in their preseason debut. For Dave Toub's unit, everything involving the NFL's new kickoff system seemed to be a challenge. Whether the Chiefs were kicking to their opponent or attempting a bring-back of their own, several mishaps led to either points or excellent field position for Jacksonville.

The infamous gaffe from the weekend was a kickoff that got flipped from a ruled touchback to a safety. The final call was correct, yet it wasn't reached without plenty of confusion along the way. According to Toub, running back Deneric Prince "assumed it was a touchback" during live play and abandoned the football. Once it came back out of the end zone, wide receiver Mecole Hardman made an effort to recover it while his body remained established mostly behind the line.

Two points in a preseason outing is a small cost to pay for clarity, though, and Toub is chalking it up as something to grow from.

"We've got a lot of work to do," Toub said. "You look at it and coaching, we just need to get more reps out there and make sure it's clear what the rules are. Obviously, we made a mistake in the game and it ended up costing us. It's a great learning experience for us."

New NFL kickoff rules strike! This is a safety (was originally ruled a touchback) #Chiefs #Jaguars pic.twitter.com/2IflriZ93v

— Brian Wacker (@brianwacker1) August 11, 2024

Coverage was also a massive letdown for Kansas City. Before Trevor Lawrence and the Jaguars' first-team offense could even touch the ball, wideout Parker Washington brought a kickoff back 73 yards. Setting Jacksonville up in Chiefs territory at the 20-yard line, points were a formality by then. Four offensive plays later, the Jaguars jumped out to a 7-3 lead and never looked back.

Again, the allowance to Washington stems from players adjusting to the new kickoff rules. Toub said back in May that the changes would be "exciting" and while that could remain true, the Chiefs are on the wrong end of that right now.

"Too aggressive," Toub said. "It's way different now. You've got to just go down there and build a wall, just like a defense would. It's the same thing. You can't afford to have one guy running right and one guy running left because that thing will pop you. We had a couple of guys over-pursue and out of position. The kid did a great job returning. I mean, it was an unbelievable return on that first one. Again, good players."

One benefit from the opening preseason game was punt coverage. For the most part, Kansas City fared well on that end with rookies Jaden Hicks and Louis Rees-Zammit helping make plays. Out of all special teams phases, that one may not need to be emphasized as much in practices as training camp ends and the preseason continues.

It's clear, however, that rules must keep being explained and understood. With the regular season still some three weeks away, there's time for everyone to get on the same page. That includes Toub and the officials, which he thinks can have a ripple effect on everyone.

"The upshot was the referees and with the rules, we have to get more consistent across the board," Toub said. "So one of the things we talked about is calling the offsides more and things [like that]. Just making sure we're all on the same page. We've got two more games to get this done before the start of the regular season, and we're working things out pretty quickly."

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