NFL Coach: Kickoff Rule Change Incentivizes 'Weirdest, S--ttiest Kicks You Can Kick'

One special teams coach isn't looking forward to how the NFL's new kickoff rules could impact the play for the upcoming season.

"The rules basically incentivize you to kick the … weirdest, s--ttiest kicks you can kick," the coach said to The Athletic's Ted Nguyen. "Any ball that can hit the ground is now artificial hangtime. And so the rules are incentivizing variations of squibs and wild kicks. And it's going to be a s--t show."

The NFL announced in March a dramatic revamp for kickoffs. The league is emulating an approach pioneered by the XFL, which sees the kicking and receiving teams line up five yards apart starting from the receiving team's 30-yard line.

There are some other nuances that will be important to consider.

Kickers have to get the ball inside the "landing zone," which spans from the goal line to the receiving team's 20-yard line. In addition, the play begins when the ball hits the ground or is caught by the returner.

Thanks to that second rule, landing a kick in just the right position could trigger a frenzied rush to the ball.

"In practice, teams have found that when the ball hits the ground, it's nearly impossible to block anyone," Nguyen wrote.

He noted how the Kansas City Chiefs have been getting former rugby star Louis Rees-Zammit some kickoff reps because he might be effective in the new format.

As much as the new kickoff change has been met with some excitement from those who follow the league, Nguyen's piece underscores how the idea has the potential to be a flop.

As far back as August 2023, Pro Football Talk's Mike Florio cited one source with special teams experience who thought adopting the XFL style would create an "ugly play." The person thought NFL players are so fast that the return man will have little room to run once he gets the ball.

Even if the experiment is deemed a failure, the increasing irrelevance of traditional kickoffs merited some creative thinking. Fans might prefer to see kickoffs turn into a "s--t show" compared to what they had been.