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Kansas City Chiefs assistant head coach and special teams coordinator Dave Toub is getting what he calls a “once-in-a-lifetime-deal” in Chicago this weekend.
No, it doesn’t have so much to do with the Chiefs Week 3 preseason game against the Chicago Bears.
Instead, it has to do with something bigger than the game itself: family.
For the first time in his NFL coaching career, Dave, who was the special teams coordinator for the Bears during a majority of his career (2004-12), will be coaching against his son, Shane Toub, the new offensive quality control coach for Chicago.
And thankfully, with the start of regular season still being 17 days out for the Chiefs, the father-and-son duo will get to experience this homecoming exactly as they’d like to.
“I’m so glad it’s a preseason game because if it was an in-season game, I couldn’t talk to him all week,” Dave Toub said. “We’re going to have dinner on Friday night, my wife is coming up and it’s a big deal to be able to coach against your son for the first time.”
It’s a first that means a lot to Dave, but it’s also one that will be be memorable for Shane, too, especially this early in his coaching career.
Prior to being hired by the Bears this past January, Shane worked as a graduate assistant under the team’s former head coach, Lovie Smith, at the University of Illinois in 2017. Before that, he had his own on-field experience as an offensive lineman at Dayton (2012-16), where he appeared in 35 games and 23 starts.
But Shane isn’t the only one Dave is excited to see. Going back to Chicago, in Dave’s case, means a lot of things to do and a lot of people to see.
“I’m excited, especially going back to Chicago,” Toub added when speaking about the city—a lot of friends there that are going to come to dinner. I’m going to have to sell some stock just to be able to pay for the dinner.”
And dinner will be fun, but Dave still has his eyes on what this third preseason game means for the 2018 Chiefs.
“We’ve got to make some tough decisions on some guys,” Dave said. “That’s just this time of year. This third game is important for a number of players. The decisions are not final right now. Obviously, we’re still going through the process, but this is the time. This week and then next week obviously is when we should all be settled.”