Chiefs Coordinator Quotes
August 19, 2025
ASSISTANT HEAD COACH/SPECIAL TEAMS COORDINATOR DAVE TOUB
Q: What are your thoughts on the rookies’ special teams performance against the Seahawks?
TOUB: “Yeah, I mean, I thought (Jalen) Royals did a really nice job. I thought he showed us something, he almost broke that one (a kickoff return), I mean the kicker just tripped him up right at the end. That was good to see, young players showing up (and) making plays. I thought (Ashton) Gillotte really played great on special teams. He had three tackles on special teams, he had a knockdown block. He’s an animal out there, so I’m excited about him as another rookie. (Jeffrey) Bassa (is) still a work in progress. He keeps working at it and keeps getting better. The thing with him is not the coverage, it’s the blocking. It’s just really technical. Athletically he’s everything you want; it’s just about getting the technique down on blocking.”
Q: On Skyy Moore.
TOUB: “His (Skyy Moore) punt-return ability and kick-return ability has really gotten better over the years, and it showed right there. I mean, he’s solid there, on that part of it. The other part is just the mental, I think, with him, and it’s just about getting over that hump. He’s definitely an NFL player, whether he’s on our team or not on our team. I think the return helped him. He’s a good football player.”
Q: Are there any more holds and blocks in the back with the new kickoff rules?
TOUB: “I haven’t noticed that, but there are a lot more returns. There’s going to be more returns, no question. Nobody’s just going to kick a touchback and allow them to (start at) the 35-yard line, that’s a big advantage. So, you want to take your chances with a good kick and then try to get it on the ground to try to get them tackled inside the 30 (yard line). I mean, you’re saving a big chunk of yardage right there. So, teams are going to do that, and I just think it’s going to increase the importance of the whole play, either kickoff or kick return. Will there be more penalties? Probably. A little bit, but teams are going to get better at it and figure things out as we go. The team that figures it out early is going to be the team that has success early, so hopefully that’s us.”
Q: Where are you trying to push Tyquan Thornton right now?
TOUB: “(I have) got to find a role for him (Tyquan Thornton). He’s definitely found a role on the offense; I don’t think there’s any question about that. He showed up there, (and) Pat (Patrick Mahomes) has a lot of confidence in him, and all (of) the offensive coaches have confidence in him. Now I’ve got to find a role for him on (special) teams, whether he’s going to play gunner, he’s going to be a kick returner, he’s going to play end on punt return. Is he going to play a two on the kickoff? He’s got to play somewhere being a third, fourth, or fifth receiver – those guys got to play on special teams because they’re taking up roster spots. But the thing about it is he’s a slight guy, so he’s got to use his speed, he’s got to use his quickness to get around people. He’s not going to run over anybody like (Ashton) Gillotte. We just got to find a role for him (Tyquan Thornton). He’s open to it, (and) he’s been great, and he’s getting better and better at gunner. He’s showing up a little bit more.”
DEFENSIVE COORDINATOR STEVE SPAGNUOLO
Q: What were your biggest takeaways from the Seattle game?
SPAGNUOLO: “Yeah, I didn’t like the way we played the run. I’ll tell you what the biggest takeaway was, and I’m going to give (Seahawks Head Coach) Mike Macdonald and his staff up there a lot of credit, it just felt like they came out with the intent to prove to the Kansas City Chiefs, and they did. They were coming out of the huddle fast; they were running right at us. I’m just not sure we were ready for that, and shame on us. But I think our guys will be ready to play (some) good football this week.”
Q: On the defensive line rotation and the loss of Felix Anudike-Uzomah.
SPAGNUOLO: “Well, it hurts to lose anybody, and certainly Felix (Anudike-Uzomah) who we were counting on in certain ways, right, and in certain roles. We’ll see who steps up and takes that role. I mean, it’ll become numbers, and (General Manager) Brett (Veach) does a great job with that. And (Head) Coach (Andy) Reid, you know, some years I know we’ve kept five ends, and then it’s four, and then maybe I think sometimes we kept six. But it might be one less tackle or one less linebacker. So, when it gets down to the end there it’ll be who’s the best 53 or however that works out. But you know in Felix’s case, the next defensive end is there. Malik (Herring) got an opportunity to jump up in there. And you know, Ashton’s (Gillotte) been playing good football, so we’ll see how it pans out.”
Q: What do you expect out of your guys on Friday?
SPAGNUOLO: “I’m really hoping that we come out, you know with a purpose early on. I think (Head Coach) Andy (Reid) has stated that our guys are going to play a little bit. I don’t know how far that will go, but for as long as we have the so-called guys out there, that we’re going to roll with in a couple of weeks, I think we need to step up and show that we’re better than what we were last week. I think the guys will do that. That’ll be the intent. We’ll see what happens. This could, it’s good offense we’re playing. I mean, our quarterback is really good. The offensive coordinator, the head coach does a really good job scheme wise. I’m sure, like everybody that comes in here, (it) doesn’t matter whether it’s regular season or preseason, (if) you play the Chiefs, they’re all jacked up. So, we’re going to get there. We’re going to get a good shot from them.”
Q: How do you feel Josh Williams fits into the back end of the defense?
SPAGNUOLO: “I’ll tell you what, Josh (Williams) has played really, really well. We tried production, in training camp, pass break ups and interceptions and forced fumbles; Josh was right up there, with a group of them. So, to his credit, he has produced, he’s getting an opportunity now with NJ (Nazeeh Johnson), kind of dinged up here, and we’ll see how that transpires. But the one thing you know, Josh always gives us the speed and length on the edge, he’s always giving us that.”
OFFENSIVE COORDINATOR MATT NAGY
Q: Do you feel like you’ve seen enough confidence in the protection from the left side on the offensive line?
NAGY: “I feel really good right now where it is at. I think that’s a credit to (Offensive Line) Coach (Andy) Heck and (Assistant Offensive Line) Coach (Corey) Matthaei and obviously the players on that left side, they’ve done a great job. Josh (Simmons) has done great. He’s really, I think, every day he gets a little bit better. He feels more confident, which is natural, so we want to keep that going. There is still going to be times where some things happen and that’s okay. Let’s just learn from it and then just try to eliminate those as much as we can.”
Q: How much are you trying to explain to Brashard Smith to trust the process on getting ready for the regular season?
NAGY: “It’s key that we make him (Brashard Smith) understand that. Because I can imagine a young guy like him coming into this offense – even a guy like Gardner (Minshew) that is here for the first time who has been in several different offenses, it can be a lot. So, you just kind of have to temper their expectations and not allow them to get frustrated, whoever it is, if it’s Brashard, if you make a mistake that’s okay, don’t make it twice. And then when you get a chance to get on the football field like he did last week, he made some good plays, and he did a good job there. But can you follow that up and continue with that is the key.”
Q: On the wide receiver depth moving forward, to the 53-man roster.
NAGY: “Yeah, I think it is a really good situation for us when you have that (depth). One of the things that (Head) Coach (Andy) Reid, (General Manager) Brett Veach, (Assistant Head Coach/Special Teams Coordinator) (Dave) Toub on special teams, they do a great job of trying to figure out okay if this guy is on the roster, how can we maximize what he does best? And vice versa, if there is a guy that is a special teams guy and we need him in a certain role, how do we get him in the offense and use him? Because you want to maximize those guys that are up for gameday and you want to try and stay away from a guy that is playing four or five, six plays a game you’d like to use those guys as much as possible, but the coaches do a good job at that.”
Q: On playbook expansion for rookies and new additions to the teams.
NAGY: “We try to understand that on the front end. Whether it is right when you get into training camp its nice because when you get into training camp you get to put on the pads. Now you gotta let them play. You gotta see what they can do. The one-on-one reps are too great, which a lot of people don’t see, but when they’re getting these one-on-one reps during our seven-on-seven periods, that’s valuable time. We put all that together and now they got all of these preseason games and so now that is all very real for them for timing. Now, it’s our job as coaches to make sure that we coach them the right way to help them develop.”
Chiefs Player Quotes
August 19, 2025
DE ASHTON GILLOTTE
Q: Dave Toub has taken to your game. How has he expressed that to you?
GILLOTTE: “I think (Assistant Head Coach/Special Teams Coordinator) (Dave) Toub has put me in a lot of positions to work and compete and that is kind of the bridge of trust there, him putting me in position just to be able to work or put my talents on display. Then just doing it from there.”
Q: Do you enjoy special teams?
GILLOTTE: “Yeah, obviously. Anything that gets you on the field is a good thing and special teams is a big part of our game. Obviously, we want to get our special teams to be number one or number two type, because it is a phase of the game. The hidden phase or lost phase. Us being good on that will help set up our offense better (and) our defense better. So, really any way we can contribute.”
Q: Have you felt anything different this week regarding preparation for the last preseason game versus the game against the Seattle Seahawks?