Chiefs Coordinator Quotes
July 25, 2025
ASSISTANT HEAD COACH/SPECIAL TEAMS COORDINATOR DAVE TOUB
Q: Can you take us through the competition at punt returner and kickoff returner?
TOUB: “Right now, I mean, it’s so early right now obviously, but punt returner, I’m excited about Brashard (Brashard Smith). He keeps getting better and better, didn’t do it a lot in college, so this is a new for him, but he’s really a good catcher, you know? And then obviously, Nikko (Nikko Remigio) just keeps getting better and better every day. He doesn’t make any mistakes. He’ll catch every ball. He’s dependable. And Worthy (Xavier Worthy), he’s working back there as well. That’s going to be a big question (on) whether I can use him or not; obviously I’d love to have him back there, especially in certain situations, because he’s that guy that can really be dynamic with his top end speed. But obviously, you know, it’s all going to depend on what’s going on with Rashee (Rashee Rice). And then you know, other guys that are in there are all doing a good job. They’re all working hard. It’s going to take the preseason games to make a real good judgement on that. Right now, Nikko is as far and above everybody else right now, just because he keeps getting better. And as far as the punter situation, that’s a big question, and we got the punters too, but as far as the punters go it’s a good competition. I think we have two NFL punters; I said that during the offseason. I still believe it. Matt (Matt Araiza) has come in right now, and he’s probably got the edge over these first few days; but I expect, you know, just because it was new for Eddie (Eddie Czaplicki) with all the fans and everything, and I think Eddie will get better next week. But it’s a real competition, and obviously we’re gonna take it into the games and see who prevails on that thing.”
Q: What is the most important thing you want to improve upon when it comes to punting?
TOUB: “I want to see (us get) better in the pooch area. We worked on that today; that was one of the things we worked on. I want to see them be more aggressive, let’s get the ball inside the five. You know they can kick it high and make a fair catch at the 15, but that’s not what we want. If a team’s making us punt at the 50, we want to get him inside the 10, or even the five, for that matter. So, we want to push that envelope. Matt’s (Matt Araiza) gotten better at his hang times on pooches, we just got to get it down the field a little bit more. And that’s both guys, they need to push the envelope, especially in practice.”
Q: What’s the timeline for deciding on a punter?
TOUB: “That’ll come down – like (General Manager Brett) Veach might hit me up, like ‘Hey, you know, where are we going,’ because we’re always – because right now we don’t have any injuries, knock (on) wood, I mean we don’t have anything serious, we don’t have to bring anyone in from the outside. As soon as that happens, you got 90 guys you got to work with, and sometimes you got to make decisions. Sometimes that issue gets pressed a little bit, but right now, we don’t have to rush on it.”
Q: The kickoff rules changed again, how are you going to adapt?
TOUB: (laughter) “All right, I’ll answer the real question first, which is a good question, because it’s going to change a lot, you know with the new kickoff rule. If you hit a touchback, if the ball flies into the end zone, last year, you got the ball at the 30. Now you get the ball at the 35. That’s going to change everything. So, teams are going to want to hit it into the target zone just about every time. And that means there’s going to be returns every time. It means you got to cover every kick, every time. So that’s why we work on it. You see us working on it every day because that’s going to be a big factor. Big influence in games is, you know, kick return and kickoff. So that’s where it is going to change a lot, as far as that goes, which is a good thing. To me, it’s a positive change. It’s good for all special teams and special teams’ coaches, because that makes the plays more relevant. And the fans are going to like it too because now there are more plays. You know, you’re not seeing touchbacks, because last year, it was just a wash. The ball was getting to the 30, they kick off, you might as well kick a touchback, get it to the 30. So, this will be a lot better.”
Chiefs Player Quotes
July 25, 2025
RB ELIJAH MITCHELL
Q: How does it feel to be a part of the Chiefs?
MITCHELL: “Man, it feels amazing. It is a winning program, and you know what it is when you come and you want to be apart of that winning program.”
Q: What is it like working with Patrick Mahomes, have you had the no look pass come at you yet?
MITCHELL: “Man, I had a behind the back (pass) my first week here. One thing about Pat (Patrick Mahomes) is you got to always have to stay ready with him.”
Q: What are your thoughts on Kareem Hunt and Isiah Pacheco?
MITCHELL: “They (Kareem Hunt and Isiah Pacheco) are all beasts, man. They can do everything, so they really push you to go to work every day.”
DT OMARR NORMAN-LOTT
Q: Which offensive lineman has been the most challenging so far?
NORMAN-LOTT: “(Creed) Humphrey is a brick wall (laughter). No, no I’m not laughing (laughs) I’m serious, seriously, I would say Creed.”
Q: Did you feel like you were ready for your first NFL training camp?
NORMAN-LOTT: “Yeah, I do believe I was ready but, you know, it is getting back into the groove of things, you always have that and that is kind of what this week was for, just to get us back into the groove. We come (back) on Sunday, and we get into pads and we are full-go.”
Q: What changes when the pads finally come on two days from now?
NORMAN-LOTT: “Probably just the level of physicality. I mean we are kind of already moving – I play a position, me in the O-Lineman and my teammates, we all play a position where we are in contact and engaged every play. So, it kind of doesn’t really make a difference but it gets more physical.”
LB NICK BOLTON
Q: What are your ambitions for the defense this season?
BOLTON: “Yeah, we had a pretty good defense last year in terms of efficiency. We also want to be a top defense in this league. I think we got the personnel, the players and the coaches to do so. It’s about executing week to week and giving ourselves an opportunity to win football games, to help our team win, and ultimately, get back to the end game. But I feel like we could be the number one defense in this league, and that’s my motivation as we keep going in training camp.”
Q: You’ve proven yourself in the league, and you’ve proven that you know this defense. What is your biggest challenge when you get up every day?
BOLTON: “Yeah man, just not being complacent. I (have) a lot of stuff that I still haven’t done in this league. Won Super Bowls, that’s cool, but individual success and all of that type of stuff – I haven’t really accomplished. So, I get out of bed every morning and be the best version of myself. I don’t feel like I’ve done that yet, so I’m still striving every day to do that. And that’s kind of my motivation every time I get up for camp.”
Q: How has the competition been between the offense and defense so far?