If only every team in the National Football League had a Dave Toub available to it.
The Kansas City Chiefs have exhibited excellence on special teams for the vast majority of Toub's lengthy tenure with the team as the unit's coordinator, which has only further cemented his reputation as one of the league's most lauded S/T coaches.
These days, even other NFL teams are enjoying the spoils from the Chiefs' special teams mastery.
Even other teams are enjoying the spoils of the Kansas City Chiefs' special teams riches.
On Thursday, the Indianapolis Colts decided to do away with their offseason kicker battle before it even got off the ground by releasing veteran Matt Gay. The move allows Spencer Shrader to assume the kicking role for the 2025 campaign (and perhaps beyond).
Shrader was a minor cog in the Chiefs' wheel of success in 2024, but his contributions were important during a short stretch in which K.C. needed to find another leg to lean on during Harrison Butker's stint on injured reserve. The Chiefs turned to Shrader in the wake of Butker's decision to have surgery on the meniscus in his left knee.
In Week 12, the Chiefs were looking to rebound from their first loss of the year in a game against the Carolina Panthers. Shrader had his hero moment with a perfect day against Carolina. The young kicker converted all three of his field goal attempts and even hit the game-winner from 31 yards out to earn the 30-27 victory.
Unfortunately for Shrader, the opportunity was short-lived in Kansas City, and not only because Butker would soon return. Shrader was injured after that game, and K.C. ended up signing Matthew Wright to fill in as the team's third kicker on the year before Butker returned for the home stretch of the regular season.
Back to the Colts' latest move. This offseason, they added Shrader with the goal of adding competition to every part of the roster in a pressure-filled offseason for general manager Chris Ballard. The Colts are making sure everyone is pressed to keep their job, and kicker was no exception. Yet, as it turns out, the team didn't even wait for offseason training activities or training camp to make their final call.
The Colts were wise to sign Shrader, given that the Chiefs (under Dave Toub's vision) have a proven penchant for unearthing dependable specialists. Butker himself is a tremendous find as a former member of the Carolina Panthers' practice squad, and he's turned into a future Ring of Honor member. Wright has been a dependable substitute on more than one occasion for K.C. as well.
Even at punter, the Chiefs are very adept at finding guys who can succeed at the NFL level. Dustin Colquitt gave way to Tommy Townsend, who is now with the Houston Texans. The Chiefs are employing Matt Araiza right now, but previous fill-ins or competitors include Jack Fox (who led the NFL in punting last season for the Detroit Lions) and Ryan Rehkow (who was a top-10 punter himself for the Cincinnati Bengals).
In short, the Chiefs are a specialist factory, and other NFL teams should be thrilled to add their cast-offs. The combined scouting talents of both Dave Toub and the team's front office have given prospects their best pipeline into the NFL—even if it doesn't work out long-term to stay in Kansas City. The Colts are just the latest team to tip the cap to Toub as they enter the 2025 season.