Despite not having played in the NFL himself, Andy Reid, the head coach of the Kansas City Chiefs, has a good understanding of pretty much every aspect of a player’s health issues. Reid, understandably, lost his cool with the NFL’s new kickoff rule which is not considered very player-friendly.
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The 65-year-old has won three NFL Coach of the Year awards and is among the most successful athletic directors in the world. He served as the Philadelphia Eagles head coach and executive vice president of football operations prior to joining Patrick Mahomes’ team.
Chief’s head coach opposes the new NFL kickoff rule!
Pretty much all 34 players from each of the 32 teams, as well as the special team’s coaches, have voiced their opposition to the change. However, the authorities did not seem to pay any regard to their protests and forced the new rule upon the players.
The Chief’s head coach then released a statement criticizing the rule, saying it was responsible for leaving many players injured. The rule calls for 22 players from both teams to rush at each other at high speed, providing little safety for the players.
“My thing is, where does it stop right? We start taking pieces and we’ll see how this goes. But you don’t want to take too many pieces away or you’ll be playing flag football,” Reid remarked.
Andy Reid certainly had some thoughts on the new kickoff rule:
"My thing is, where does it stop right? We start taking pieces and we'll see how this goes. But you don't want to take too many pieces away or you'll be playing flag football."
— James Palmer (@JamesPalmerTV) May 24, 2023
The committee and team owners, however, appear less concerned with the players’ safety and continue sticking to the rule.
“At the end of the day, health and safety drives decisions like this. I’ve sat on the health and safety committee for a number of years now,” competition committee chairman Rich McKay remarked regarding the rule.
What is the new NFL kickoff rule?
The new rule was approved on Tuesday for the 2023 season after NFL owners decided to test it out for a year.
The ball will drop on kickoffs at the 25-yard line in accordance with the new rule. Furthermore, kick returners are now permitted to wave for a fair catch everywhere inside the team’s 25-yard line. The majority of kickoffs will end in touchbacks as a result, making the kickoff less thrilling than before.
Andy has two Super Bowl rings from his time coaching for the Kansas City Chiefs, and throughout his career, the head coach has remained by the players’ sides and has not shied away from speaking up for them when necessary.
