After missing out on the postseason for the first time, head coach Andy Reid and the Kansas City Chiefs kickstarted a major roster shakeup. It included different staff members and assistant coaches heading into the 2026 offseason. As excited as the fans are about the recent developments, they’re unhappy about a particular coach who is still with the team: David Toub, special teams coordinator for the Chiefs.

The team announced multiple assistant staff hirings on their official X account this week, including names like RBs coach DeMarco Murray, WRs coach Chad O’Shea, assistant DL coach Terry Bradden Jr., offensive and defensive quality control coaches Nate Pagan and CJ Cox, respectively.

The addition of DeMarco Murray is perhaps the most high-profile move of the cycle. Murray, a former NFL Offensive Player of the Year, arrives after a successful six-season stint at the University of Oklahoma. His task will include revitalizing a ground game that struggled for consistency during the 2025 campaign. 

Alongside him, Chad O’Shea brings a championship pedigree that the Chiefs desperately missed last year. With three Super Bowl rings from his time with the New England Patriots, O’Shea has a reputation for developing route-runners. This will turn out to be a major addition for the team since Kansas City’s receiving corps led the league in dropped passes for the second year in a row.

The reaction from fans, though, wasn’t centered on the new hires but on Toub, and they made it clear that they expected more sweeping changes. For now, that doesn’t appear to be in the plans, because Toub also serves as assistant head coach and has a long-standing relationship with Reid.

Amidst everything that went wrong for the Chiefs this season on both sides of the ball, the special teams were as big a letdown, if not bigger, and Toub is well aware of that reality.

“We’re not as good,” he said. “We’re not making as many plays as we did last year at critical times on special teams. That’s frustrating.”

The frustration is justified after a dismal 6-11 record that saw lackluster punt returns and costly penalties in their own territory. When Mahomes’ jitters added to the woes, Toub’s unit’s inabilities amplified and the result was a losing season.

When you look into the technicalities closely, the Chiefs finished near the middle or lower tier of the league in most special teams EPA categories. Their kickoff return EPA was 33.79 (23rd), punt return EPA came in at -9.63 (25th), total return EPA was 24.20 (26th), field goal and PAT kicking EPA landed at 29.20 (16th), punt EPA was 3.20 (17th), and punt coverage EPA registered at -6.50 (20th).

The one bright spot was kickoff coverage, which posted a -34.68 EPA, good for 6th among the 32 teams. The unit also avoided a lost fumble on special teams all season, but for a team accustomed to hidden-yardage advantages and timely plays in the kicking game, the falloff is not acceptable among the fans, who made their feelings known on X.

Fans call for Dave Toub’s dismissal

Andy Reid and Dave Toub go way back, having met at a diner in El Paso, Texas, more than 35 years ago. Over time, their careers intersected again in Kansas City in 2013, where they’ve built one of the more successful runs the franchise has seen. Reid has even consistently spoken highly of Toub, calling him one of the best in the business and head-coach material.

But that praise hasn’t shielded Toub from criticism this offseason.

“Why is Toub still employed?!?!🙄🤡,” one fan wrote.

The frustration is understandable, as it echoes a sentiment shared by other fans, who have watched several assistants move on while special teams lagged, and from their perspective, if changes were coming across the staff, that unit should not have been exempt.

“And yet you still have an ego-centric turd in Dave Toub running Special Teams thinking he’s the reason we won all those super bowls,” another wrote.

The criticism overlooks some of the broader context, because Toub has been part of the organization for 14 seasons, a span during which the team racked up nine straight division titles, appeared in seven consecutive AFC Championship Games, and reached five Super Bowls, where special teams have often played a pretty important role.

“What does Toub have on Veach,” another fan posted.

General manager Brett Veach enters an offseason with significant work ahead, including navigating a tight salary-cap situation and reshaping parts of the roster and staff, and while personnel decisions ultimately fall under his purview, any move involving Toub would almost certainly involve Reid as well, which makes the departure rather unlikely.

Another fan echoed the sentiment, “FIRE TOUB,” they exclaimed.

If the special teams unit doesn’t show immediate improvement during the preseason, the “Fire Toub” chants are only going to grow louder, regardless of his history with the organization. For now, a change appears unlikely, as the team has given no public indication, such as interviewing replacements or expressing dissatisfaction, that Toub’s job is in jeopardy.