Chiefs Coordinator Quotes
October 15, 2026
ASSISTANT HEAD COACH/SPECIAL TEAMS COORDINATOR DAVE TOUB
Q: Can you take us through the fake punt?
TOUB: “It’s a pre-snap, seeing what they do when they bailed out, and they had a light box. We had an automatic fake there. That’s really all it was. We saw something earlier in the season that they had done, and we just thought if they did it again, we had a good opportunity. I’m always looking for something because I know how fast (P Matt) Araiza is, and he’s a great athlete. That kind of opportunity to be able to take off like that, he had to take it.”
Q: Can you walk us through the punt in the fourth quarter where RB Emmett Johnson made the play? Did it matter that the rookie who saved the ball was an offensive player?
TOUB: “The two rookies? The rookie saved it, to the other rookie? Yeah, I was so proud of those guys. Whoever gets there, like whoever the gunner is, on the right side, if they kicked it that side, then he’s going to be the one that plays the goal line. If it’s left, the left side guy. So, I mean (RB) Emmett (Johnson) ended up being the first one down, so he made the play at the goal line, it was awesome. He had the presence of mind to keep his feet inbounds, took off, threw it back. And that’s a credit to (Assistant Special Teams Coach) Porter (Ellett), you know my assistant that works with those guys. They have to practice, rise those guys up to the level of being able to make a play in a game like that. It’s good.”
Q: Through four weeks, how would you evaluate the return game?
TOUB: “I was happy to see that we got a punt return, no penalties. That was a big thing. Still working with the kick return, I told them this is something that we need to keep. I like the way we’re working. I like the blocks. I like the effort that we have. But productive wise, we’re not where we need to be. The good thing that I like to see is that we’re getting better every week with these young players.”
Q: On the punch out by LB Jeffrey Bassa.
TOUB: “(LB Jeffrey Bassa) He did it perfect, you couldn’t do it any better. But I mean we always talk about second, third guy in. Once a guy gets wrapped up, and he’s going nowhere, there’s a period of time where when you’re that guy coming in, you’ve got to find that football and punch it out. Because he’s still on his feet, the whistle hasn’t blown, he had a chance to get it out, and he couldn’t execute it any better. In that situation, (LB) Jack (Cochrane) was there to be able to fall on it, and huge play.”
DEFENSIVE COORDINATOR STEVE SPAGNUOLO
OPENING STATEMENT: “I don’t have much. Refreshed, ready to go. Got a game, division game. Glad to be back at practice, did enjoy the time though, so that was good but I’ll open it up.”
Q: On CB Mansoor Delane’s ability to be physical when facing the run despite injuries.
SPAGNUOLO: “Yeah, I think instinctively (CB Mansoor Delane) he wants to. He was a physical guy at LSU. We harp on that here. We guilt those guys into being physical because when they’re not, we put it on tape. And I just think that’s him, he plays that way. Whatever the shoulder and everything, I think he’s kind of put it out of his mind, which is a good thing. You want to play like that.”
Q: How are you working to turn the pressures into sacks?
SPAGNUOLO: “It's a step away, right? It's a half a second to get off. It's a quicker counter move. If you really want to get down to the detail because our guys have been there, would we like to have more sacks, yes. But I still like the fact that we get the quarterback off the spot, we make them throw off time or off balance. And if we can keep doing that, that's a good thing. I mean, our guys got a lot of pride. But we do talk about, we stay away from the S-words, stats and standings, and try to deal in the W words, trying to get wins. And hopefully, if the guys continue to do what they're doing, hopefully those will come.”
Q: You don’t shy away from sacks though?
SPAGNUOLO: “Well, when I say that, we all want them, but it's a stat. You know the stat I like? The stat that we harp on is the one stat that helps our football team win the game. That's points allowed. And on offense, the one stat for them is points scored. And then special teams is both. But I'm being honest when I say that. I never put up what we're ranked in this. I don't do that. I just go on to the next team. I do always put up points allowed, though. That’s the biggest thing.”
Q: When you self-examined the team during the Bye Week, was there a player or two you identified that you might want to have an expanded role?
SPAGNUOLO: “Here’s one I'm glad we got back, is (DB) Chamarri (Conner). I'm sure you've watched the tape just like we have. Physically, I thought he played really good, had some really physical hits. Over on the sideline, caused an incomplete pass, but I'd like to have him there more. And the guy that just seems to be a constant stabilizing guy is (CB) Chris Roland-Wallace. He's a jack of all trades for us. We can put him in at different spots. And you can see now, so Chamarri's back, but I think (DB) Jaden (Hicks) and (S Alohi) A.G. (Gilman) still deserve to play. We rolled them through. I think (CB) Kristian Fulton has had some good downs. So, you see him rolling in there, and we're going into the fifth game of the season for us. And I think the more you can do that in the first half of the season, I think the better off you're going to be. Because somewhere along the way, we're going to get nicked up and it'd be good for those guys to have some reps on their belt.”
OFFENSIVE COORDINATOR ERIC BIENIEMY
OPENING STATEMENT: “Good afternoon, hope all is well. Back from a Bye Week, guys are working. Time to go back to work. AFC West opponent, we got the LA Chargers. I’m all ears.”
Q: How nice was it to have T Josh Simmons back out there yesterday with his teammates?
BIENIEMY: “More than anything, (T) Josh (Simmons), he’s a part of our family. He’s on our team, I mean he’s one of the guys. So, it’s always good to have a teammate out there, but we’re going to let the process be the process. So, we’ll go from there.”
Q: In four games, what is your evaluation of QB Patrick Mahomes?
BIENIEMY: “I don’t know yet, if I have a four-game evaluation of anyone. I’ll say this, we’re four games into it, we’ve won four, okay? We still have a lot of season left, and we still have a long way to go as a team. Have we played our best ball yet? No, you can go up and down the roster talking about each and every different position, talking about the good, bad and the indifferent. But all of us have something to work on. I mean me as a coach, I’ve got things I need to work on. I’ve got to make sure I’m over communicating clearly, some of the things that need to be communicated clearly to (QB Patrick) Pat (Mahomes). But on top of that, we just need to make sure that our guys are working to improve to getting better. Because yes, we are 4-0, but this is just the start of the season. We’ve still got 13 games plus left. There’s a lifetime of season left, so there’s a lot of growth that we’re still counting on. So as a staff, we just remain tight, making sure that we’re not leaving any stones unturned.”
Q: When it comes to the short yardage, what are the coaching points for the backs?
BIENIEMY: “Well, one thing I always tell the backs is this: first and foremost, regardless if we don’t block anyone, it is our duty and our responsibility to find a way to move the ball, find a way to move the chains. I played in this league, that was what I was charged with when I played. But on top of that too, there’s O-lineman, there’s tight ends, everyone is involved. So, one thing that we’ve got to make sure we’re doing a better job of is just execute the fundamental details that we need to be better at. So, when it’s all said and done with, our attitude and our mindset and our focus have to be in the right place. Right now, we’re just doing okay in short yardage. We have to be better collectively as a group.”
Q: Do you feel like you’ve built what you’ve wanted in the first four games from a foundation perspective?
BIENIEMY: “I’ll say this, we’re 4-0 right now. That’s the only thing that matters. Now, we’ve got to find a way to get 5-0. We’re still working on establishing our foundation, we’re still working on establishing who we are as an offense. I know that we’ve done some good things, but there have been some things that we’ve done badly that we need to improve upon. But, at the end of the day, our guys are coming into the building, they’re working their tails off, and they understand those things. And so, if they continue to work at it, I know that we’ll continue to build, and we’ll continue to somehow someway try to progress moving forward.”
Chiefs Player Quotes
October 15, 2026
DT CHRIS JONES
Q: What's your message to your guys about not overlooking any teams just because of their record?
JONES: “I don't think overlooking a team in this league can be overlooked. Chargers have had a lot of close games. They've been up in a lot of games. Mishaps towards the end of the game kind of cost them, but they've been up a lot of games. They've created a lot of turnovers. Watch the Buffalo Bills game, I think it was like 3-5 turnovers they created just to finish the game. So, definitely a team that's capable of putting us in uncomfortable situations and challenges, challenging us on both sides of the ball.”
Q: What are the biggest challenges with Chargers QB Justin Herbert?
JONES: “I think (QB Justin Herbert) he's been utilizing his legs more so than ever now. Getting out of situations using his legs. He's a strong runner, big passes. Definitely very efficient outside of the pocket. He can make all the throws. For us, the front four, especially when it's about affecting the quarterback. Getting him down, his hurries. Whatever we can do to affect the quarterback.”
Q: When you look at DE George Karlaftis’ play, that final play that created the turnover, what does that say about him?