Chiefs Coordinator Quotes
November 7, 2024
ASSISTANT HEAD COACH/SPECIAL TEAMS COORDINATOR DAVE TOUB
Q: When you got Peyton Hendershot, did you have your eye on having him contribute on special teams?
TOUB: “Yeah, he (Peyton Hendershot) was a good player in Dallas. I talk to (Cowboys Special Teams Coordinator John) Fassel down there and he called me immediately as soon as we traded for him, and he said, ‘You got my guy.’ He does a good job. He can run and he does a good job, he’s real physical. He understands, he has good instincts, and he helped us in that game. He was able to step in on a short – you know obviously when he (Jared Wiley) got hurt – he got (called up) on a short notice and was able to be a three-phase player for us in that game so it helped.”
Q: What did you see on Mecole Hardman’s 30-yard return?
TOUB: “It was a good job by him (Mecole Hardman). You know we blocked it up pretty good, we doubled down the gunners, we had six guys in the box. We got a good punt, he set it up really well and bounced it out to the wall. Once we got to the wall, he was able to use his speed and get out. Unfortunately, that’s where he got hit and landed on his shoulder, but he was able to come back in the game and he toughed it out and came back. It says a lot about him.”
Q: What’s the scouting report on the Broncos?
TOUB: “Ah man, they are really good and I’m not just – I mean this is real. They are probably (a) top five unit right now. You know as it speaks – as it is right now, statistically. You put on the tape, and it got our attention right away. They fly around, the (Broncos) returner (Marvin) Mims is probably the best guy we’ve faced all year. (Broncos) Punter Riley Dixon moves the ball well. (Broncos) Kicker (Wil) Lutz is doing a great job. I mean, (they’re) well coached. (Broncos Special Teams Coordinator) Ben Kotwica is probably the – you know I have a lot of respect for him, I think he is one of the best coaches in the league. We’ve got our hands full. They’re built to dominate on special teams. They’ve got a few of our ex-players too. They’ve got (Broncos CB) Tremon Smith and – (Broncos FB Michael) Burton. I can’t forget about Burton, I mean shoot, he’s a great player.”
DEFENSIVE COORDINATOR STEVE SPAGNUOLO
OPENING STATEMENT: “Listen, we got a – it’s a quick week coming off a Monday night game, hopefully we get plenty of rest and get ready to play on Sunday. (It’s) nice to have a noon time game with a little sunlight out so we’re looking forward to that – AFC West Divisional Game so we’re pretty fired up about that. With that, I’ll open it up.”
Q: How do you feel Joshua Williams did with the added snaps?
SPAGNUOLO: “(Joshua Williams did a) solid job. We have some things we have to work on. I think if you asked all the guys – I don’t know, maybe you’ve spoken to them. Listen, the most important thing is we won the game. Nobody felt good about the way it ended defensively. The last thing we want to do is put the offense back out there, go to overtime – the whole thing, so that part was disappointing. Quite frankly, we need to get better there because in the last three games – I mean the other two games were two possessions, it’s a little bit different, but this one stung a little bit and we hope to improve there. Getting back to the original question, I thought Josh (Joshua Williams) was solid. There’s some things we have to get better (at), and we’ll see where we go from here.”
Q: When you look at where you guys are now, what traits stand out to you about how you’re finding all these different ways to win and what is it that drives that?
SPAGNUOLO: “The head coach drives it first, then the quarterback, then hopefully the defense is factored in there somewhere. It’s funny, you ask the question, and I don’t know, maybe this is a fault, I don’t know but I get – I’m kind of like so here (motions hands to indicate being focused) that sometimes I’m unaware that we’re winning games like we’re winning them because all I’m really concerned about is not letting them score points to give our team a chance to win. We’ve found ways, ahead, behind, overtime, field goals, touchdowns and that’s – I think it’s a credit to the guys in the locker room – the character of those guys.”
Q: What do you see out of Broncos Quarterback Bo Nix?
SPAGNUOLO: “When are we going to get one that’s not so good (laughter)? Boy, for a rookie, he (Broncos QB Bo Nix) has a command. I watched – I went back and watched the first game he played in and was – I thought he – (Broncos Head Coach) Sean (Payton) had him doing things that sometimes you say, ‘Do you have a rookie do it in the first game that he plays?’ But yet, there he is doing it. I just think he’s gotten better every week. He looks more comfortable. You guys (the media) see it. It’s another athletic quarterback and I think those guys are always headaches because there’s certain things you can and can’t do because you’re afraid that he’s going to make you look bad with his feet and he can do that. I think he’s getting – listen, the guy can throw the football, there’s no doubt about that. They have themselves a good one.”
OFFENSIVE COORDINATOR MATT NAGY
Q: What are some of the keys to the success on third down and what is the importance of converting on third down?
NAGY: “It’s very important. Probably just staying ahead of the sticks first (and) second down and it always goes to that. (That’s) kind of the commonsense answer but then also there’s been some stuff with Pat (Patrick Mahomes) using his legs. Conceptionally, if something’s not there I think he does a good job of ‘eyes down and then how can I make something happen with my feet.’ Then, (it’s) almost like you see whether it’s first, second or third down, he also now entices the defense that they’ve got to stop him and now he does a good job of still kind of playing that ‘go, throw or go’ type (of) deal with the line of scrimmage where you either go and run, you throw it or all of a sudden they think you’re going to do that then he runs and gets a first down. It’s a combination of all of that but I’ll go back to the start. First and second down, staying ahead of that – the sticks and then eliminating the penalties.”
Q: How have you guys been able to be so adaptable despite all the injuries this season?
NAGY: “Probably the mentality that (Head) Coach (Andy) Reid has. No matter who it is – I say this and I mean it, he doesn’t care and we don’t care. Whoever’s out there, we put it on us that we’ve got to stay together, we’ve got to do what’s best for the players – whoever it is. We believe in those guys (and) we hope (that) they believe in us and then let’s go stay positive and make things happen and guys have done that. They’ve been able to step in, some guys have had prior history that we know with JuJu (Smith-Schuster) and Kareem (Hunt) but there’s other guys too that are going to have to step up. They feel the belief and Coach Reid has the belief in his players and coaches. We all feel that and it’s something that just organically grows.”
Q: Does it feel like you have so many different ways to win now? Is that something that has come from your ability to adjust with injuries?