Chiefs Coordinator Quotes
December 12, 2024
ASSISTANT HEAD COACH/SPECIAL TEAMS COORDINATOR DAVE TOUB
Q: How did Harrison Butker look in practice yesterday?
TOUB: “He (Harrison Butker) looked good. You know, we have to see how he responds. He’s going to kick again today, and we’ll put a little bit more on him. I think he looks pretty good – we’ll see.”
Q: On Nikko Remigio’s return game.
TOUB: “He (Nikko Remigio) did a really good job, showed a lot of poise out there, good square catches, good decisions. That great hit was really good, that pooch punt where they – you know, the middle – he even tricked some of our guys. Some of our guys were like – they thought he made a fair catch, and he stole it. It was a great decision on his part. We have to do a better job of blocking for him, finishing it up and keep blocking till the whistle with him because he will take a little bit more of a risk but he’s smart too at the same time – really, really good job I thought.”
Q: On Matt Araiza and James Winchester being able to adjust with each of the kickers.
TOUB: “It says a lot. I think I said something last week about that, those guys deserve a lot of credit. Matt (Araiza) being able to adjust – the holder is huge with new kickers. They want that ball a certain way and he’s able to just dial it up real quick. Then, James (Winchester) being consistent with his snaps as he always is. You know, they’re both veterans. Those guys were a huge part of our success with the backup kickers.”
DEFENSIVE COORDINATOR STEVE SPAGNUOLO
OPENING STATEMENT: “Alright, I don’t have any wild words of wisdom so I’m going to just open it up and let you guys fire away.”
Q: On the younger defensive backs.
SPAGNUOLO: “Yeah, it’s not going to be much different than it was this past week. We’re starting to play a number of people. I mean, you saw Jaden Hicks has played quite a bit, Josh (Joshua Williams) and NJ (Nazeeh Johnson) have both been in there. (I’d) like to try to keep working Chris Roland-Wallace in there, that hasn’t happened as much, but I think it’s probably time to do that. You never know when we’re going to have an injury and (when) we’re going to need these guys, so I think the experience is really good. Quite frankly, some of those guys have deserved it so we’ll get them in there.”
Q: Where do you think your pass rush needs to be in order to be playoff ready?
SPAGNUOLO: “I don’t know. We have to take it – we still have four more games. Right now, I don’t go too far forward. I know everything that’s lined up and I realize we won the division – that’s all great, but we’re playing the Cleveland Browns and that’s all we worry about. We’re hoping every game that the pass rush is intense and violent, and we do really well and then we evaluate at the end of each game so we keep putting guys out there and see what we can get.”
Q: How do you coach eye discipline beyond the game?
SPAGNUOLO: “Yeah, I think it comes back to the practice field, like even (during) yesterday’s practice – I mean, I began yesterday’s meeting with eye discipline – big power point, because I think that’s really important now. Back-end guys especially get their eyes tested. I mean, play action pass is supposed to test the eyes, right? They want you to think they’re running the football. We come – we’ve been harping on what we’re calling the two D’s – details and discipline, and the eye discipline is one of them. If you’re going to be a zone coverage team – or even if you’re in man (coverage), your eyes have to be on your man. When you play back there at linebacker or DB (defensive back) – at those two spots, it is all about the eyes. It begins there.”
OFFENSIVE COORDINATOR MATT NAGY
Q: Patrick Mahomes said some of the hits he’s taken are on him. How do you coach that part?
NAGY: “There’s certainly a fine balance there because – especially (when) you look at third down, he (Patrick Mahomes) extends plays with his legs so if he has a good feel of getting it and he’s going to use his legs, that’s great. I think when you’re a quarterback and there’s so many elements that go into the play. Sometimes you see it for afar where it’s a guy (that) is open and for a different reason the ball is not thrown and it’s sometimes on the quarterback to trust it and sometimes it’s not. There’s different things that happen within your view from down there on the field with different games that the (defensive) line does. Trusting where to go with the football and really not trying to make – if they do a good job on defense, don’t make a bad play worse and balancing trying to do something because what we’ve all seen from Pat is the really crazy plays that not many people can do (but) he does it. It’s one of those deals where you say, ‘No, no, no, no, yes,’ that’s what he does a lot. In the general basic foundation of the offense, just staying true to your feet, staying true to your progression and trusting everybody, coaches and players.”
Q: What’s it like watching Patrick Mahomes try to problem solve in real time?
NAGY: “You feel good about it because he has a history of doing those things in his (Patrick Mahomes) career – in big time moments, that’s the other thing. It’s usually not when you’re down 20 when he makes a play like that, it’s usually a critical moment that he makes that play. That’s who he is. We want to feel good when we put in a play – do we like it? Then, on top of that, when do we call that play? If we all feel good as players and coaches then whatever they do, we’ve got to react. In that case, they dropped eight and played zone (coverage), (which was) difficult for that play that we called but it still worked. So, if you’re a defensive coordinator and you see that, I’m sure there’s some frustration but that’s Travis Kelce and Patrick Mahomes making a play in a big moment to win us a game. For us as coaches, there’s a balance and there’s also a trust in them knowing that if that throw wasn’t there to Travis, we feel good that Pat’s going to make the right decision and not make a poor decision and that’s important.”
Q: What would make this game a success in your book offensively?