The Indianapolis Colts confirmed the signing of their new head coach Sunday.
Frank Reich, the now-former offensive coordinator of the Super Bowl Champion Philadelphia Eagles, is headed to Indianapolis. Reich, 56, is a former quarterback who first began his NFL coaching career in 2008 with the Colts as an offensive assistant before bouncing around the league for the past decade.
He made his return to where it all started on Sunday.
What matters more to Kansas City Chiefs fans, of course, is the man who didn’t get the job, current special teams coordinator Dave Toub.
Toub, 55, has served the Chiefs as their special teams coordinator since the arrival of Andy Reid in 2013 and will presumably hold that position headed into the 2018 season.
Despite a lack of special teams touchdowns (Tyreek Hill being pulled from kick return didn’t help in this regard), longtime NFL writer Rick Gosselin graded the Chiefs second in the league in special teams in his yearly review.
“The 2017 runner-up Chiefs were particularly strong in the kicking game, leading the NFL with 41 field goals and becoming one of only seven teams not to miss a conversion kick,” Gosselin wrote in the piece.
Only the Los Angeles Rams graded better than Kansas City.
While the Chiefs special teams units didn’t dazzle like they did in 2016, Gosselin rated the Chiefs in the top five in kickoff coverage (5), opponent punting (1), opponent net punting (3), field goals (1) and takeaways (T-4).
The Chiefs were also perfect on extra points, allowed no points, had no kicks blocked and never gave the ball away.
Toub’s most important move of last year probably had nothing to do with on-the-field play, but rather, helping to find and then sign Harrison Butker off the Carolina Panthers practice squad when Cairo Santos was suddenly unable to go.
Butker broke the Chiefs field-goal record with 38 made kicks despite playing just 13 games.
Due to Toub’s connection with Colts general manager Chris Ballard, there was reason to believe he could be the next choice in Indianapolis once Josh McDaniels backed out.
With the announcement of Reich, Toub stays for 2018, and that is good news for the Chiefs.