Kansas City Chiefs assistant coach Dave Toub did not give President Donald Trump his seal of approval for recent criticisms Trump made about the NFL’s new kickoff rules.
“He doesn’t even know what he’s looking at,” Toub, 63, told reporters on Thursday, November 20. “He has no idea what’s going on with the kickoff rule.”
Toub, who is the Chiefs’ special teams coordinator, added, “So I’m going to take that for what it’s worth. I hope he hears it.”
Trump, 79, has made it a personal mission to disparage the NFL’s new kickoff rules, which became permanent at the start of the 2025 season, in recent months.
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“I do have to say, I’ll probably get myself in a little trouble for this. I hate the new kickoff in football,” Trump said November 11 on ESPN’s The Pat McAfee Show. “I think it’s so terrible, I think it’s so demeaning, and I think it hurts the game. It hurts the pageantry. I told that to [NFL commissioner] Roger Goodell.”
According to the new rules, the ball is kicked off from the kicking team’s 35-yard line, but every player on the kicking team, other than the kicker, lines up with at least one foot on the returning team’s 40-yard line. Players must also wait to move until the ball hits the ground or is touched by a returner inside the 20-yard line.
“I don’t think it’s any safer,” Trump added. “You still have guys crashing into each other. It’s the opposite of what the game stands for. The ball is in the air, and nobody’s moving. It’s supposed to be when the ball is in the air, when the ball is played, you’re supposed to be moving.”
KANSAS CITY, MISSOURI – FEBRUARY 15: Dave Toub and Matt Nagy celebrate on stage during the Kansas City Chiefs Super Bowl LVII victory parade on February 15, 2023 in Kansas City, Missouri. Jay Biggerstaff/Getty Images
The president also raised his annoyance with the kickoff rules during an interview on Newsmax in October.
“I’d like for them to change the kickoff rule, which looks ridiculous,” Trump said during a phone interview on Greg Kelly Reports. “Where the ball is kicked and the ball is floating in the air and everyone is standing there watching it.”
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Trump added, “It’s not any safer than the regular kickoff. I think it just looks so terrible. I think it really demeans football, to be honest with you. It’s a great game. But it demeans football.”
The president even took to social media to complain about the kickoff rules, as evidenced by a Truth Social post in September.
“The NFL has to get rid of that ridiculous looking new Kickoff Rule,” he posted on the social media platform. “How can they make such a big and sweeping change so easily and quickly. It’s at least as dangerous as the ‘normal’ kickoff, and looks like hell. The ball is moving, and the players are not, the exact opposite of what football is all about. ‘Sissy’ football is bad for America, and bad for the NFL!”
Trump continued, “Who comes up with these ridiculous ideas? It’s like wanting to ‘roll back’ the golf ball so it doesn’t go (nearly!) as far. Fortunately, college football will remain the same, hopefully forever!!”