Tyreek Hill not being considered at kick return, plus other special teams notes from Dave Toub

Well, damn.

A week ago, I speculated that with kickoff rules changing to make it more like a punt, the Kansas City Chiefs may want to consider giving Tyreek Hill his return job back.

Then the Chiefs special teams coordinator, Uncle Dave Toub, scoffed at the idea Thursday after the Chiefs’ sixth OTA practice.

“I knew that question was coming,” Toub laughed. “Tyreek’s a punt returner right now. Kick return is up for grabs right now. We have a lot of guys in there that are working hard.”

No one has stood out thus far, according to Toub.

“It’s too early,” he said. “Right now, it’s just about—as coach talked about—getting fundamentals down, knowing what to do, learning our base of special teams, what we do with the kick return game. It’s too hard to tell right now until we start having contact.”

Other special teams notes

• When asked how much he had to do with the making of the new kickoff rules, Toub said a lot. “I was one of the nine guys that went to New York and helped develop this thing. We did it as a unified group, all the coaches, and I think that’s what made this thing go through so quick is that we were unified with it and all 32 coaches were on board and we understand. We’re trying to make the play more exciting as well as being safer.”
• Sixth-round cornerback (No. 196) Tremon Smith is getting a look at kick returner. “He’s a guy that we’re trying to develop into that role. He runs a 4.32. He’s done a little bit in college, but not a lot. We got him on the crash course getting him ready to go.”
• Expect third-round linebacker (No. 100) Dorian O’Daniel to be on each of the Chiefs’ special teams units this fall. “He’s got a lot of speed. It shows up on tape. Right now, that’s all you really could see. He’s learning things well. He’s going to help us. He’s going to be a four-phase starter I think day one for us on special teams.”