Coach Dave Toub Should Worry Less About Trump And More About Kansas City Chiefs' Disastrous Special Teams

Dave Toub should worry more about his unit on the football field than Donald Trump.

This week, Chiefs special teams coach Dave Toub criticized Donald Trump’s comments on the NFL’s kickoff rules and made it clear he’s not a fan of the president.

"He doesn’t even know what he’s looking at," Toub said about Trump. "He has no idea what’s going on with the kickoff rule. So, I mean, take that for what it’s worth. I hope he hears it."

Toub’s tone makes it clear he dislikes Trump and was eager for a chance to say so publicly. That said, there’s no known link between political opinions and coaching success. The issue is that Toub has bigger problems right now. 

The Kansas City Chiefs are 5-5 and currently the ninth seed in the AFC. Whether they make the playoffs is an open question. The Chiefs’ struggles this year are well-documented. They’re 0-5 in one-score games. Blame is well shared— from Patrick Mahomes’ untimely red-zone interceptions to Travis Kelce’s drops, from the lack of a consistent running game to defensive collapses on third down. Oh, and then there's the special teams.

Toub’s unit has had a hand in nearly every Chiefs loss this season. This past Sunday, Kansas City all but lost the AFC West in a three-point loss to Denver. In that game, the Chiefs' special teams missed an extra point, gave up a 70-yard punt return, lost the field position battle, and committed multiple penalties on returns.

Chiefs fans were frustrated but not surprised.

"Chiefs special teams has been shit all season; not surprised. Toub and company need to get their crap together," the popular account Chiefs Blitz posted Sunday.

"Chiefs special teams … gross all season," added former Chiefs lineman Geoff Schwartz.

ESPN’s Peter Schrager agreed, calling out Toub’s unit after the game: "[The Chiefs] were always better than you at the little things—special teams and penalties. Yesterday, their special teams were a disaster."

The same could be said about the team’s upset loss to the Jaguars in Week 5, when special teams contributed to 109 penalty yards in another three-point defeat.

It also hasn’t helped that Harrison Butker ranks among the league’s worst extra-point kickers this season, converting just 85 percent of those attempts. His overall field goal percentage is only 84 percent. While we can’t say for certain that Toub hasn’t tried adjusting his kicking and holding formations, the lack of visible accountability on special teams suggests he’s content to wait for Butker to figure it out.

Dave Toub of the Kansas City Chiefs. (Photo by Rich Graessle/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)

What’s more, the Chiefs are essentially down a roster spot this season because Toub wanted the team to carry Nikko Remigio, who he said before the season was the team’s only reliable punt and kick returner. The problem? Remigio doesn’t play on offense, and he’s averaging just 8.5 yards per punt return and 26 yards per kickoff return.

Sure, years of muffed punts and kickoff fumbles under Toub allow the Chiefs to justify carrying a player who can at least field and fair catch the ball. On the other hand, most special teams coordinators can coach players to do the same — players with explosiveness who can also contribute elsewhere.

Put bluntly, Dave Toub is not a good enough coordinator, and his unit is having too disastrous a season to create the distraction he did this week by voicing his opinions about Donald Trump.

Then again, maybe he hopes to blame his eventual firing on the team owners’ support for Trump, deflecting attention from his poor coaching.