Chiefs Coordinators & Assistant Coaches Quotes
October 16, 2025
ASSISTANT HEAD COACH / SPECIAL TEAMS COORDINATOR DAVE TOUB
Q: What was behind the differences in penalties?
TOUB: “Focus. I think (Head) Coach (Andy Reid) put a lot of emphasis on it. I mean we all emphasized it, about being smart at the point of attack. We just did a better job. (We were) lucky we didn’t get a lot of penalties as well.”
Q: Do you think Butker is progressing despite the missed field goal?
TOUB: “Yeah, I do. We’re going to keep working. It’s just about focus on the little things. The short field goals got to be just as much focus as the long field goals. He’s (Harrison Butker) been solid in practice, and we’re just going to keep grinding on this thing.”
Q: With Rashee Rice back what does this mean for Tyquan Thornton regarding special teams?
TOUB: “(Tyquan) Thornton’s – yeah, I can use him a little bit more now. Which would be great. He’s a threat as a kick returner and punt returner. Also, in the coverage – kickoff coverage, he’s got a lot of speed. We’re going to have; there’s a chance we could have seven wide receivers up. Six (or) seven or five, six, and seven got to help you somewhere on special teams otherwise you’re just wasting spots. That puts Thornton back into that spot as you guys understand.”
DEFENSIVE COORDINATOR STEVE SPAGNUOLO
OPENING STATEMENT: “We’re on obviously the Raiders, and it’s a big week. It’s a rivalry week, so we’re fired up about that and another home game which is good.”
Q: On Defensive Line Coach Joe Cullen’s Run Meetings and how they set the stage for the run defense.
SPAGNUOLO: “Every coach on our staff has an area. (Defensive Line Coach) Joe’s (Cullen) is the run game, (Linebackers Coach) Brendan (Daly) on the same day does play action pass and drop back pass on first and second down, (Defensive Backs Coach) Dave Merritt – third down, (Senior Defensive Assistant) Matt (House) – redzone. And everybody – (Outside Linebackers Coach) Rod’s (Wilson) involved in that but Joe kicks it off. Joe’s (Cullen) got some energy to him. But I think the credit really goes – the players get dialed in and right from the beginning on Wednesday morning because we always begin no matter what team we’re facing we’re stopping the run. I say it all the time. If they’re two dimensional or can be two dimensional that’s tough on us, so let’s try and make it a one-dimensional game.”
Q: On complementary football.
SPAGNUOLO: “We love to be in that mode all the time. It does make a huge difference. I call it a little bit differently. I think the guys on defense, they think a little bit differently, and they should. And most teams offensively, when they get in – down two possessions, certainly down three possessions, you’re going to see a lot more passes and I think our guys can pin their ears back and play it as such. It goes back to the headed towards the one dimensional, and that’s a team thing it’s a complementary football just like you said Soren (Petro).”
Q: On Derrick Nnadi.
SPAGNUOLO: “I rely heavily on Derrick (Nnadi) with regards to – I trust him, he (Derrick Nnadi) knows what we’re doing. I know he’s going to be where he’s supposed to be, and he handles his gap. Now we don’t put Derrick in to rush the passer because that’s not his (strength), but I think for what we’re asking him to do he’s done a solid job for us. And we need that from those inside guys. You guys see it during the game, Chris (Jones) can’t be out there every down so at some point (Defensive Line Coach) Joe’s (Cullen) got to give him (Chris Jones) a break and the next two guys that go in there got to kind of hold the fort down until Chris gets back in there.”
OFFENSIVE COORDINATOR MATT NAGY
Q: What will it mean to have Rashee Rice back?
NAGY: “Rashee (Rice), his growth from rookie year to last year, unfortunately getting hurt to now, this year the word is just exciting, optimistic. The kid has done so much on and off the field to better himself, both as a person and a player. I think you feel that and see that with the love and friendship that these guys have internally. You see that (and) you feel it. I half get goosebumps just thinking about when he goes out there and what he does to this offense. There is an excitement that you have – remember now he hasn’t played for a little while, so there is a little bit of some realness to it too. But that’s the beauty of what (General Manager) Brett Veach and (Head) Coach (Andy) Reid have done with the depth that we have in this offense. I think it’s been stated that there hasn’t been a whole lot of plays and games that the three of those guys have played together and now we get to do that.”
Q: How mindful will you be of Maxx Crosby in the upcoming game?
NAGY: “You have to. In the offseason the Kelce brothers (Travis and Jason Kelce) they did that little deal – that interview with me and they asked me, “who is one of the most important or toughest defensive players that you go against?”, and Maxx Crosby is right there. Anytime – you’re talking about a ton of players and somebody that does his – he goes 100% of the time all the time. He’s relentless. He’s a game changer; he can affect the game. So just a ton of respect. You got to know where he’s at on every play.”
Q: What are you seeing in Patrick Mahomes level of confidence and trust?
NAGY: “It’s on another level. The trust. That trust is powerful you got to have that – you want to be able to take shots downfield, well you can’t do that if you don’t have protection. You want to be able to take shots downfield, you got to have the guys that together can attack a defense. You put that together and you put Patrick (Mahomes) back there and these guys are just executing at a high level right now. As a coach, that’s fun to be able to come here on a Monday and put together and show them how we’re improving (and) creating this identity. I just go back to eliminating those penalties. When we don’t beat ourselves and just stay ahead of the sticks, we can do good things. But consistency, you have to be able to do that every week, and you can never get complacent. Those two words I think go hand in hand. If we do that, stick together and keep that edge it can be our special special year.”
DEFENSIVE LINE COACH JOE CULLEN
Q: On having to combat against Raiders RB Ashton Jeanty.
CULLEN: “Well, I’ll tell you what now, they (Las Vegas Raiders) do a great job (Offensive Coordinator) Coach (Chip) Kelly and (Head) Coach (Pete) Carroll emphasize the run game, and (Ashton) Jeanty, he can make all the cuts. You look at the Chicago game when he broke those long runs. You look at the Washington game, he had some great runs in there. Every week, he’s gotten better and better, so it’s all hands-on deck, all 11. We’re going to have our hands full; he is a heck of a player. He was at Boise (State), and he’s continuing to do it. He’s got like 430 yards rushing, top 10 in the league. We got our hands full, run and pass.”
Q: On the run game meetings and his role in them.
CULLEN: “Well everything starts with (Defensive Coordinator) Coach (Steve) Spags giving us the goals for the week, and like I said before, Coach Spags does a great job. He empowers. He gives ownership to all of the assistant coaches, not just the position coaches but all the young coaches as well. They have a certain game plan, part of the week that they have to present. We have a little run game meeting, we spice it up (with) what our goals are and who we got to stop and how we’re going to stop them, and you know it’s just part of football.”
Q: What other things are the group working on?
CULLEN: “Every day in your technique. Every day in your technique. From the run game when (Defensive Coordinator Steve) Spags asks you to drop. I mean it’s just ongoing, every game.”
WIDE RECEIVERS COACH CONNOR EMBREE
Q: What have you seen from the wide receiver group and their chemistry?
EMBREE: “Yeah, they’re a very close group (and) everyone gets along. The biggest thing I think is they all like to watch each other succeed. They’re each other’s biggest fans and truly just all brothers.”
Q: On Xavier Worthy’s ability to be a route runner.
EMBREE: “I think sometimes not just even him (Xavier Worthy) but some receivers, when they come out from college and into the pros, they kind of get a bad knock on them for being fast and thinking that they can only do one thing because they’re fast. But I said it earlier too, I thought he did a good job this offseason of developing and improving on areas me and him talked about going into the offseason. Everyone knows and you can see it on tape, he’s not just a straight line, I’m just going to run track out here. He’s a football player. It’s great having him.”
Q: Do you like seeing the “everybody has to eat” moto and do you embrace it too?
EMBREE: “Yeah. I told the group at the start of the year; it doesn’t matter if we win 2-0 or 100-0. I don’t care if you guys get 100 catches or zero catches, the most important part is to win. I think they just buy into that – the whole team does and that’s why we are who we are.”
PASS GAME COORDINATOR JOE BLEYMAIER
Q: On what he sees from the wide receiver room’s love for each other and get along.
BLEYMAIER: “It’s a good observation and anybody that has been around them in this room or me or any of the coaches, it’s a genuine respect and admiration that they all have for each other. When you have that respect for somebody else in your receiver room that’s doing the same job, that comes to work (and) is prepared, it allows you to kind of appreciate the different skill sets that everybody has and there’s no jealousy or rivalry, it’s more of a mutual respect and then how can we all complement each other to have fun, play our best and move the ball. It is a true statement that they do get along great. I think it’s built on that true respect.”
Q: On the value of yards after catch.
BLEYMAIER: “I think the value of it (yards after catch) is in a way eliminating some third downs. When you have the yards after the catch, we’re always trying to get explosive plays that move the chains. Sometimes the easiest or highest percentage throw is shorter, but if you can take that higher percentage completion and turn it into a yards after catch that moves the chains, you’re just prolonging the drive, raising the likelihood that you’re scoring points and staying out of those third downs where the potential is coming off the field. I think in the grand scheme of things, we’ve been good on third downs and we’ve been great having third and manageable, third down shorter and staying sort of ahead of the sticks but the YAC really helps you continuing to move the chains.”
Q: How have you seen Travis Kelce raise his game?
BLEYMAIER: “A lot has been said about it. One of the things that I think is unique with Travis (Kelce), especially at 35 (is) he finds an ability to get better during the season. We’re here in October and sometimes guys, especially guys that know they’re going to play (and) know they’re going to have a lot of snaps can go into each week of the season – especially October with sort of a self-preservation mode. Just trying to maintain where they are physically and do it on Sunday. They don’t really push themselves during the week, they’re trying to save something back for Sunday. Trav continues to push himself (on) Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursdays and Fridays and that allows him to get better. I think that’s what has gotten him to this point, and he hasn’t slowed that down so even at his age and the years that he has, he’s continuing to get better week to week. You’re seeing it a little bit in the stats, but he’s always done that. That’s rare, the guys who are new and especially the wide receivers that see him work can take that as an example that just because the season starts, it’s not all about Sundays. It really is what you do each day.”
Chiefs Player Quotes
October 16, 2025
DT CHRIS JONES
Q: On the success of the run defense so far.
JONES: “(Defensive Line Coach) Joe Cullen. He’s our run game coordinator, and he’s been putting us in the right position to capitalize on the plays. With your run game coordinator, they have to display the runs throughout the week for your aid. As you build that repetition throughout the week, you kind of know what’s coming. For us, familiarity in the game and we are able to be in our spots and capitalize on it.”
Q: What have you seen from Charles Omenihu this year compared to last year?
JONES: “He (Charles Omenihu) has 2.0 sacks in back-to-back weeks. Keep him on that trend. Keep his spirits high and a positive mind frame. Charles, we can utilize Charles in multiple sets for us. He can be a great asset for us, especially in the long run and the play off, he can play defensive end and defensive tackle when he puts his mind to it. We have to keep Charles in good spirits and keep him going.”
Q: What’s the key to forcing more turnovers?