Chiefs Coordinator Quotes
December 18, 2024
ASSISTANT HEAD COACH/SPECIAL TEAMS COORDINATOR DAVE TOUB
Q: When Harrison Butker lands on his knee, is that accuracy or a power thing? What does that allow him to do?
TOUB: “I’m not sure about the power. I’m not sure he (Harrison Butker) has more power the other way, I mean, that’s up for debate. (His) accuracy is fine. I mean, he’s been doing this for two years. He missed that field goal but that wasn’t his – you know, he was coming back but that wasn’t his fault.”
Q: How nice will it be to catch up with Texans P Tommy Townsend before the game?
TOUB: “(Texans P) Tommy (Townsend) and I were real close and it’s going to be good to see Tommy again. He’s having a great season. His numbers are really, really good. We look forward to the challenge of playing against Tommy now. We know Tommy so it’s going to be fun, (it’ll be) a little bit of a reunion seeing him again.”
Q: On the Texans return game.
TOUB: “Very good, I mean (Texans KR Dameon) Pierce the returner – the kick returner, he doesn’t go down. It’s as simple as that. He breaks tackles and he’s really, really tough. Then, they have (Texans WR/PR) Tank Dell back there at punt returner now. He’s got six returns, he’s averaging like 14 (yards) every time he touches it, never fair catches it. I mean, they’re a top unit, great cover team, very well coached. (Texans K Ka’imi) Fairbairn, the kicker is excellent, then (Texans P) Tommy (Townsend), we know all about him. It’s a good unit – playoff team caliber level.”
DEFENSIVE COORDINATOR STEVE SPAGNUOLO
OPENING STATEMENT: “Listen, coming off the last week’s game – if I was being honest, I’d say we were all happy except for one play. We played some pretty good defense but with that, we put it to bed and now it’s onto a playoff team. This is a good football team with a really good quarterback and some weapons so (we’ll need) all hands-on deck for this one. With that, I’ll open it up.”
Q: Did you see some progress from your defense after forcing six turnovers and five sacks? Is this sustainable?
SPAGNUOLO: “Well, I’ll tell you the play that Bryan Cook made, I thought was a really good, athletic play – (he) played that perfect. Then, Trent (McDuffie) – I mean, to get your first interception on a play like that was – and then at the end of the game, it was nice to finish the game with an interception rather than having them drive a little bit so all that was good. Leo’s (Chenal) been doing – Leo’s been doing that (motions punching the football out) all year long. He does it in practice, he’s done it in the games and sometimes it (the football) comes out and sometimes it doesn’t, but I thought that was perfect. The play Nick (Bolton) made – it was the first play of the second half? Yeah, I mean he did – first he hit it (and then) when it bounced back, I thought it was going to be one of those where he made a great play and then they caught it and then he found a way to tear it out of there, but some really good individual plays I thought on those turnovers. Then, Charles (Omenihu) with the fumble.”
Q: What have you seen from second-year guys like Texans QB C.J. Stroud and Texans WR Nico Collins?
SPAGNUOLO: “They (Texans QB C.J. Stroud and Texans WR Nico Collins) look like they’re in complete synergy (meshes hands together), and not just those two and not just that wideout. I think they have a tight end (Texans TE Dalton Schultz) that’s real effective, their slot receiver’s (Texans WR Tank Dell) really good and then the running back (Texans RB Joe Mixon), who we saw a lot when he was in Cincinnati – boy, what a find he was for them and he – and not just as a running back. He catches the ball out of the backfield, too. You know, we hadn’t played the Texans since C.J. (Stroud) had gotten there so we really hadn’t studied them other than seeing highlights and what not, but he’s as impressive as you had heard about people talking. (He’s) really poised for a second-year quarterback and I think he just has a unique ability to move around in the pocket and still have his eyes downfield. He makes a lot of plays slipping in and out of the pocket and finding an open receiver and when a quarterback can do that, I think that’s pretty dangerous.”
Q: How has the return of Charles Omenihu impacted the defense as a whole?
SPAGNUOLO: “Well listen, you guys know how I feel about Charles (Omenihu). It’s good to get him back and it was going to take a little while to kind of ramp him up. He’s playing a little bit more and more – a little bit more on first and second down now, which is a good thing for us when they decide to throw it. He’s getting better in the run game (and) that takes a little while. I mean, remember he steps into this thing with really no padded practices since the Baltimore game a year ago so that’s taken a little while, but I think he’s getting there and I’m glad we got him (back). We just need everybody up front to kind of play like we did last week to help everybody else on the back end.”
OFFENSIVE COORDINATOR MATT NAGY
Q: What are you looking for when making the decision of if Patrick Mahomes will play on Saturday?
NAGY: “Just for him (Patrick Mahomes) to be able to be honest with us as he goes through this. It’s all part of the game (and) we know he’s a tough kid, so we understand that but at the same point in time, you want to be smart. I think, you know – we know our schedule this week and (it’s) a little bit of a shorter week so there’s a balance there to that but so far, I think his mindset is to do everything (that) he can but at the same time, you still have to be able to see how he does throughout the week.”
Q: What do you weigh when you’re looking at left tackle between Joe Thuney and Wanya Morris?
NAGY: “You probably just start off – I want to give a lot of credit to Joe (Thuney) coming in last week and doing what he did. I thought, in that moment, he did a great job against a really good front – in particular, (Browns DE) Myles Garrett so we’ll continue to just kind of keep an eye on that. In the end, (Head) Coach (Andy) Reid will make the final decision on how we go with that and where we go but I just look back to last week and just say – for what Joe did in that moment, I think it just speaks to him and the value that he has of being able to have the flexibility to go out there and play tackle like he did.”
Q: Is there something that you’ve learned about DeAndre Hopkins that you didn’t know before since he’s been here?