Chiefs Coordinator Quotes
September 1, 2025
ASSISTANT HEAD COACH/SPECIAL TEAMS COORDINATOR DAVE TOUB
Q: On Nikko Remigio making the 53-man roster.
TOUB: “Yeah, I mean, you know you think about Nikko (Remigio). I mean, he’s been our starter. For the last eight games that we’ve played, he’s been our guy. And I’ve gotten used to having him back there, and he just keeps getting better and he really had a great training camp. He’s become a leader for us, as far as his work ethic, and everything he’s about, and he’s a great teammate and he’s a good guy. And I’m happy he’s on the team.”
Q: What have you seen from Tyquan Thornton regarding kickoff returns?
TOUB: “I saw somebody that hits it fast, he’s (Tyquan Thornton) got great speed. He’s a willing blocker, so that’s important. I talked about that before how important that off returner is to be able to single block somebody. He’s going to have to block somebody. Nikko (Remigio) does that as well, if he gets the ball and Brashard (Smith) is still working on it and getting better and better each day. He (Brashard Smith) had a good game too, by the way, in that last game, so that was good to see with him. We talked about getting him a lot more touches and we did, and he showed up and it was good to see.”
Q: What have you seen from the Chargers return game?
TOUB: “Yeah, (Chargers WR) Derius Davis. He’s very good. Excellent dynamic. Not a real big guy but man, he is quick and fast and shifty, you know, and you have to be sound covering him. You can’t over commit one way or the other. He’ll cut it back on you. So, we got our hands full with him for sure, and we know those guys. We play them (Chargers) twice a year. A great coach, (Special Teams Coordinator Ryan) Ficken does a great job and the punter and the kicker, (Chargers K Cameron) Dicker the kicker, they’re both excellent. And the thing they have, they have a change at the long snapper (position), but it looks like they got a veteran, (Chargers LS Rick) Lovato. So, we played against him. He was at the Eagles last year, so we know him, but he’s an experienced guy, so they won’t miss a beat. They’re solid across the board.”
DEFENSIVE COORDINATOR STEVE SPAGNUOLO
Q: On Ashton Gillotte and Omarr Norman-Lott.
SPAGNUOLO: “I thought he (Ashton Gillotte) played really good, too. He had some explosive plays, a tackle for a loss where he busted right through. It was slow-go at the beginning with both (of) those guys from the standpoint of learning the system. But Ashton (Gillotte) just gets better and better. He impresses guys in one-on-ones and the things that he’s doing, he’s real strong from the waist down. Omarr (Norman-Lott) is just kind of taking a little while to get going, you know? He makes strides and then he gets an injury here, and that’s been a tough thing for him to get through. So, we’ll see where we’re at by (the) time we get to gametime. But as we get going here in the course of the season, we’re going to rely on both of those guys.”
Q: When you go into an opener, do you have a sense of what you have defensively?
SPAGNUOLO: “It’s always a good question. Like right now, I was just doing something with Mitch (Holthus) in there, he just asked the same question. I’m a firm believer that you don’t fully know what you have, what you’re going to be, (and) what you’re going to be able to do from a defensive scheme standpoint until you’re in the first quarter of the season. I think offenses feel the same way. I mean, a lot of times when we are doing an offseason study on a team, sometimes I throw the first four games out, because everybody’s doing that. They’re trying to figure out what they have, and the pieces change every year, I mean, there are guys that we had last year that we don’t have anymore. We’ve got some new pieces, so it's going to take a little bit. I do think in these early games, the in-game adjustments are really important, and I think (that) the defensive staff we have does as good (of) a job at that as anybody, and then we get in there at halftime and decide to maybe do something different that we hadn’t planned on. I think all that’s really important.”
Q: What strategy do you use to build your season?
SPAGNUOLO: “Yeah, we’re building every week. I mean, listen, these early games, especially a divisional game, we’re probably not going to hold anything back because we’ve got to win the division games. So, there’s not a portion of that, that we’re trying to hide anything. We do a lot of self-scouting. We’ll get six weeks into it and have six games of our defense on film (and) try to do things differently – there’s a lot of that. But right now, it’s going in the game, and kind of figuring out as quick as you can what they’re trying to do to you and trying to combat that.”
OFFENSIVE COORDINATOR MATT NAGY
Q: How do we know the deep ball is a priority this season?
NAGY: “I think it’s for sure the mindset. It started not just right now, but it started in OTAs. For him (Patrick Mahomes) it’s when you start looking at just - whether it’s a progression. I’ll use for example: If there’s something where there’s a post over the top or if there’s something as simple as a guy in the flat with an intermediate route, it’s the mindset of being able to know you might not throw the post, but you’re going to start there and it’s always been that way but I think the repetitive nature of where we’re at, it’s important and he’s had that since OTAs. We talk internally. We have some reminders for him and it’s good for him and those guys, they’re embracing it, and I think now we (have) got to just go out there and play within the play.”
Q: What has changed most in Patrick Mahomes since he entered the league?
NAGY: “Probably his (Patrick Mahomes) consistent drive to be great. And when I say that it sounds pretty easy to say but when you do the things that he has done early in his career, and he comes back the next year and wants to do more and work harder and be a greater leader. He truly leads by example. He’s not a guy that – he leads in every way possible. On the field, I think what’s happened is we’ve really done a good job – he’s done a good job at being able to step back where he’s at now in his career and say: ‘You know what, let’s get back to the basics. Let’s get back to fundamentals and let’s get back to progressions.’ And that’s where we’ve been challenged as a staff to make sure that we hold him accountable and he wants that. And so, like it’s an all-encompassing deal, but the leadership, the drive to be great every year and be better is just not normal and I think he does a great job with that.”
Q: On what makes him most eager about Isiah Pacheco having a full offseason.
NAGY: “Well, we’ve always said Nate (Taylor) that he’s (Isiah Pacheco) our energy guy. Whatever he does he brings it every single play. Last year we lost a little bit of that when he got hurt and then he came back, and I don’t know with his weight and everything with where exactly he was, but he came into this year in OTAs and then into training camp with a really good weight, playing fast. You see it on tape, you just – you see him finishing every single play. There’s this focus that he has right now. He's locked in. I think he’s very, very motivated. He felt what we felt last year and so, he’s a leader now. This is no longer his first or second year, he’s become a leader. We need him.”
Chiefs Player Quotes
September 1, 2025
DT CHRIS JONES
Q: What has your anticipation been for this season?
JONES: “Getting through the process of training camp, first and foremost. Seeing what type of talent we got amongst the team and building from it. Building from it and preparing for the Chargers in Brazil. I think it’s sweet we get to play international (for the) first game of the season. I think that is a challenge for us as a team, a division rivalry. So, we got a lot of things to look forward to and also, we get to test where we’re at on this team.”
Q: What do you see from Justin Herbert as he approaches this season?
JONES: “You know, (Chargers QB) Justin Herbert is always improving. Players are always improving, so we understand he had a big arm. They got some new talent amongst the offensive line. The backfield set is different, (Chargers RB) Najee Harris (has) came over from Pittsburgh, who’s a heck of a (running) back, who I have great respect for. (Chargers WR) Keenan Allen is back, who I have a great amount of respect for. So, they have a lot of talent over there, and it’s going to be a challenge for us. And last year we didn’t get to play against (Chargers WR Ladd) McConkey – if I’m saying his name right, last year, so that’s a challenge for us also because they tend to get him the ball.”
Q: What has it been like having Derrick Nnadi back as a teammate?