Will Dave Toub's special teams hurt Bears on Sunday?
When Dave Toub was the Bears' special teams coordinator from 2004-12, his crew finished in the top three in eight of his nine seasons.
This year, under Jeff Rodgers, the Bears' special teams have struggled. They're last in kickoff coverage after allowing 2 TD returns of over 100 yards, and they're 24th in punt coverage. On a positive note, they are 10th in punt-return average and 12th in kickoff-return average with Marc Mariani averaging 26.0 yards on kickoffs and 12.0 yards on punts.
Rodgers' units will need to be at their best Sunday when the Bears face the Chiefs and Toub, whose special teams are, as usual, among the best.
Last year the Chiefs led in average starting position after receiving a kickoff (25.9-yard line) and in 20-yard-plus punt returns (12). De'Anthony Thomas averaged 11.9 yards on punt returns in 2014, fourth in the league. Knile Davis was third in kickoff returns 28.6-yard average.
Davis is No. 1 in the AFC this year (25.8) and eighth in the NFL, two spots below Mariani.
Rodgers and Toub have faced each other twice a year the last two seasons in the AFC West, when Rodgers was with Denver.
"We know each other's schemes and (tendencies) well," Rodgers said. "They've been productive since (he's) been there. There are a lot of things they do well."
Toub has been a head-coaching candidate for years, and he interviewed for the Bears' top job after Lovie Smith was fired. When it went to Marc Trestman, Toub reunited with Andy Reid, who had just been named the Chiefs' head coach.
"He's one of the better special teams coaches," Reid said on a conference call. "I'm partial because he's with me, and he's a friend that I've known for a long time."
While some teams and players downplay the importance of special teams, Toub's ability to motivate backups and starters alike to play hard on his special teams and to make it a priority are part of his success.
"They take pride in what they do," Reid said of Toub's units. "That's important. That can be a job that gets neglected, (but) he makes it something where guys are asking to be on special teams and want to be a part of that."
Most NFL head coaches were offensive or defensive coordinators before they ascended to the top job, but there are exceptions who used special teams as their springboard, such as Mike Ditka and John Harbaugh.
Rodgers believes many of the duties required of special teams coordinators prepare them to lead a team.
"Part of our job description is managing all 53 guys on the roster, 46 guys on the game day roster, who's on the practice squad, how to utilize your personnel, game management, clock management, are we punting, are we going for it," Rodgers said. "Those are constant decisions over the course of a game that we're not necessarily making but things that we have to be intimately involved in.
"I think it's good preparation, but everybody making those decisions as far as hiring a head coach is looking for a certain fit. We'll see if more special teams coaches get those opportunities."
Reid says he's surprised Toub hasn't become a head coach yet, so he was asked why.
"I don't know," Reid said. "I just know what I know."