Five Chiefs who shouldn’t be back in 2023
By Jacob Milham
The Kansas City Chiefs season has come to an end. What players and coaches need to be gone after the 2022 season?
Well, it had to come eventually. The Kansas City Chiefs season is over after their second Super Bowl win in four seasons. After capturing the AFC’s top playoff seed, the Chiefs’ season ran through the postseason, proving that all good things must come to an end. The team reached big heights, but individuals reached even higher.
Quarterback Patrick Mahomes had another MVP season. Tight end Travis Kelce cemented his spot as the league’s best tight end. Head coach Andy Reid furthered his legacy. There are a lot of good things that came from the 2022 season.
But there are plenty of issues to address ahead of the 2023 season. Some aspects and specific players were season-long issues for the Chiefs, causing injuries and hindering the team’s overall ceiling. Sometimes, players need time to rest and recoup, attacking the next season with a fresh body and mind. But sometimes things cannot be fixed, and the Chiefs just need to move on.
That being said, where do the Chiefs need to cut their losses and move on?
Special teams coordinator Dave Toub
It was not long ago that special teams coordinator Dave Toub was receiving head coaching interest from teams around the league. Now, fans couldn’t imagine him spending another season in Kansas City, even in his current capacity.
Nothing came easy for the Chiefs special teams in 2022, except for kicker Harrison Butker’s powerful leg on kickoffs. The Chiefs finished as the league’s worst field goal kicking team, according to Football Outsiders. The kick return (30th) and punt return (24th) units did not fare better. The special teams’ struggles can be attributed to several individual performances, but the unit’s issues have been going on all season. At the end of the day, Toub is responsible for that side of the ball.
Toub has been in Kansas City since 2013, so his departure will not be taken lightly. But Chiefs fans do not trust the special teams as a whole, and someone has to take accountability for it. If anyone has to, it should be Toub.