A Kansas City Chiefs coach has issued a savage putdown to Donald Trump after the president’s recent criticisms of an NFL rule.
Trump has been a ferocious critic of the league’s dynamic kickoff rules ever since they were introduced before the start of last season.
He has voiced his opposition to the tweaks multiple times on social media and did so again during an appearance on the Pat McAfee show earlier this month.
Trump said: ‘I think it’s so terrible. 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.’
However, Trump’s criticisms have now drawn the ire of Super Bowl winning coach Dave Toub, who ripped into the president during a press conference on Thursday.
Toub, a special teams coach for the Chiefs, said: ‘He doesn’t even know what he’s looking at. 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.’
Chiefs coach Dave Toub hit back at Donald Trump’s criticism of the NFL’s new kickoff rules
The NFL introduced a new rule in a bid to reduce the number of high-speed collisions
The NFL introduced a new ‘dynamic’ kickoff for the 2024 season in a bid to reduce the number of high-speed collisions amid an ‘unacceptable injury rate’.
The change was also designed to incentivize teams to run the ball back – rather than call a fair catch.
The change sees players from the kicking team now line up on the opposition 40-yard line – rather than behind the kicker.
They cannot move until the ball hits the ground or a player in the landing zone or the end zone.
The designated landing zone sits between the receiving team’s goal line and its 20-yard line. Any kick that lands inside this area must be returned.
Earlier in the month, the president, admitted he was waiting to watch his 60 Minutes interview but could not help deliver another attack on the ‘ridiculous’ kickoff rules.
He wrote on Truth Social: ‘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.
The president-elect called the rule, which came into place this season, ‘ridiculous’
Data shows the adjustment to the new rule has led to more concussions this year than 2024
‘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.’
Previous tweaks to the NFL’s kickoff format in 2011, 2016 and 2018 did reduce dangerous high-speed collisions, but resulted in more touchbacks and fewer kick returns, much to dismay of fans.
There were even calls to scrap kickoffs entirely until the NFL experimented with some changes in 2024 that were made permanent this season with a significant new wrinkle.
Interestingly, according to data revealed by The Athletic, the concussion rate per 100 kickoffs has climbed to 1.18 in the first seven weeks of this season, up from 0.09 in the same timeframe last season.
For kickoffs that are specifically returned, the rate has climbed to 1.48 per 100 over the first seven weeks. Last season, it was 0.29 per 100.
What’s missing from this data is how many concussions per 100 kickoffs were taking place in 2023 prior to the introduction of the ‘dynamic kickoff’.
Statistics from the NFL published in February showed that the concussion rate on kickoffs in 2024 was down 43 percent compared to the rate from 2021-2023.
