In an effort to increase the number of kickoff returns and decrease the amount of violent, high-speed collisions, the NFL made drastic changes to their kickoff rules over the offseason.
The NFL, inspired by the XFL, implemented the hybrid kickoff. This will be used on a one-year trial basis, so it remains to be seen if the league will make this a permanent change.
Let’s break down what the hybrid kickoff will entail and then see what players and coaches around the NFL are saying about it.
What Is the NFL’s New Hybrid Kickoff?
The hybrid kickoff will look very different from what NFL fans are used to seeing. Here are the details:
- The kicker will kick off from the 35-yard line.
- The other 10 members of the kickoff team will line up at the returning team’s 40-yard line.
- At least nine members of the receiving team will line up five yards away at the 35-yard line.
- Up to two returners will line up in the “landing zone” (between the 20-yard line and the goal line).
- Only the kicker and returners can move before the ball hits the ground or the returner within the landing zone.
- The ball will be placed at the 30-yard line if it lands in the end zone.
- Any kick that hits the landing zone must be returned.
- If the ball lands inside the 20-yard line and rolls into the end zone, it must be returned or downed (which results in the ball being placed at the 20-yard line).
- If a kick fails to reach the landing zone or goes out of bounds, the receiving team takes possession at its 40-yard line.
- No fair catches are allowed.
The hybrid kickoff worked extremely well in the XFL, with returns on 97% of kickoffs during the 2023 season. For comparison, the NFL saw returns on just 22% of kickoffs last season.
Players, Coaches Share Their Thoughts on NFL’s New Kickoff Rules
The NFL’s new hybrid kickoff has forced players and coaches to adjust, and teams are spending significantly more time practicing kick returns during training camp.
What do the players and coaches think about this drastic rule change? Pro Football Network compiled quotes from various NFL players, head coaches, and special teams coordinators who have discussed the hybrid kickoff in recent weeks.
Atlanta Falcons head coach Raheem Morris: “It was fun. You know, I think the National Football League is getting what they want: some extra returns. Obviously, strategies are a little bit out the window right now. People probably want to see it. We can see the learning curve from all the coaches having a chance to go look at it — us having a chance to go look at the [Hall of Fame] Game. … [You have seen] just how much we worked on it. The uptick in the amount of work that that play is getting this year. The uptick in the excitement for the fans and what they’re going to see. And bringing that play back for us is exciting. There is a little unknown. Let’s not kid ourselves, that makes everybody a little nervous. But at the same time, that nervous energy is what creates the excitement for the National Football League.”
Los Angeles Rams head coach Sean McVay: “It just feels weird. I mean, it doesn’t look like anything I have been familiar with [in] football. I know that the intent is right, and we’ll try to figure it out, and I know everybody that has been involved in that has their intentions in the right place. But it’s a very foreign-looking play and, ultimately, however we feel about it, we’ve got to be able to adjust and make sure that we adapt, and it can be something that is an advantage to us. We’ll continue to really put our heads together with [special teams coach] Chase [Blackburn] and [special teams assistant] Chili Davis and with [game management coordinator] John Streicher, and figure out what’s the best way to execute that phase so that it will be beneficial for our team.”
Baltimore Ravens kicker Justin Tucker: “[My] initial reaction was you have to be positive about it and think about it in terms of, ‘This is going to keep the play in the game.’ This is not just going to keep the play in the game, it’s going to make it much more exciting. I think there’s going to be a lot more action as far as kicks that will be returned. … This might be surprising to you — and to my teammates — [but] I’ve been in the gym. Kickers are involved in 20-25% of the tackles! … Just like a pitcher tries to develop his stuff, I’m doing the same thing out here, trying to figure out whichever we can in our minds [to] gain an advantage, gain an edge, whether that means putting the ball in different spots, making it challenging for a returner to scoop up the ball easily — all of those things we’re looking at right now.”
Miami Dolphins head coach Mike McDaniel: “We’ve been having conversations from schematic to the various ways you want to use personnel. I think it opens up your roster because the reduction of distance for the coverage teams makes it less substantial of an investment overall. So it may be guys that traditionally have been starters on defense or starters on offense, I think it gives you more flexibility to get starters on that unit for various reasons. Overall, it wouldn’t shock me if, shoot, every No. 1 receiver and every No. 1 running back in the league is raising their hands to return kicks Week 4.”
Ravens head coach John Harbaugh: “It’s going to be an interesting play, a fun play. You can kind of look at it philosophically any way you want. There are things that it takes away. You don’t have a line of scrimmage anymore. You don’t have an onside kick surprise anymore. But, it does add things to the game, and the main thing it adds is a positive. … I thought there were other options — I’ll just be clear about that. I was for doing something, and this is something. Basically, at this point, we’re committed to it. We see the good of it, the excitement in it.”
New England Patriots kick returner Jalen Reagor: “There’s just one line of defense now. I feel like that’s bad for the kickoff team. It’s bad. (smiles) … I’m going to be up to like 20 miles per hour. If they miss, it’s over.”
MORE: Examining Every NFL Team’s Starting Kick Returners
San Francisco 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan: “[When choosing a kick returner], you want the best guy. They come in all shapes and sizes. You want the fastest, quickest, biggest guy possible. But they usually don’t make it exactly like that. So you also want some smart guys too. [Or] not necessarily smart, but how they track the ball. It’s going to be different. We don’t know what type of balls are coming back there. You almost need a shortstop, too. Because the quicker you can pick those balls up and judge it right, the more you can get on track with the blockers and in line with them, which is going to happen real fast. There are so many variables that are going into it, so we’re just trying to learn by watching it and thinking about it, but we’re not truly going to learn until we get some experience at it.”
Dallas Cowboys kick returner KaVontae Turpin: “It’s going to be a great weapon for us, especially with me back there. I feel like I have fun back there. [I hope teams] give me a chance. The first three games, I feel I’m going to have a chance. But if I break one or two, I feel like they’re just going to kick it in the end zone and rely on their defense to stop our offense.”
Pittsburgh Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin: “Ask me [what I think] in a week or so after I get into the stadium and see it with my eyes. We respect it. The adjustment and transition that we are all going through, and we show our respect to it with work and working to understand the nuances of it. But none of us are really going to be comfortable — not really any of us in Pittsburgh, not any of us in the 31 other cities — until we get more exposure to it.”
Kansas City Chiefs special teams coordinator Dave Toub: “I’m excited and nervous about it, to be honest. We’ve been working on it a lot. … But there’s a lot of unknowns with it. How are teams going to attack you? What are they going to do? What are their kickers going to do? What’s going to be the philosophy? And how are they going to officiate it, too? We have the officials here, and we’re going to sit down today, in fact, and watch our tape and have those guys tell us, good or bad, what we’re doing. It’s going to be an ongoing [thing]. These preseason games are going to be important for us.”
Chiefs kick returner Nikko Remigio: “I feel extremely comfortable. It’s very different. It tends to happen a bit quicker (snaps fingers), which I believe attends to my game a little bit more. You’ve got to change direction in a quicker amount of time and a shorter amount of space, so it’s going to be fun to see how it evolves. It’s something that’s going to be constantly changing, I think, as the season goes on. To be in the position I’m in now — to be learning and just seeing the different ways that Coach [Toub] is thinking, I’m excited to see what it can evolve into.”
Detroit Lions special teams coordinator Dave Fipp: “No. 1, I would say I’m excited about it. No. 2, I would say I think it’s like a lot of things: the more you learn about something, the more questions you have. There’s still a lot of unanswered questions. … It’s a little bit different than the other league that was using it, whatever, two years ago, so it’ll be interesting to see. … There’s a lot of unknown, I think. At the end of the day, what I told our players is, we’ll be ready to adjust on the scheme and all that stuff, but any play in football is going to come down to the same old things. It’s going to come down to blocking or evading a blocker, and then it’s going to come down to tackling and making somebody miss. So, at the end of the day, we’ll spend a lot of time on fundamentals and technique, and we’ll also be ready to adjust and adapt to any other thing that we see out there that we think is successful.”
49ers special teams coordinator Brian Schneider: “This is the coolest thing to happen in terms of my coaching career. It’s, ‘What are you going to do?’ You have a great opportunity to do something that’s never been done before. So it’s a race to figure it out, and it’s going to be constantly adjusting.”
Dolphins special teams coordinator Danny Crossman: “Honestly, right now, we are looking at everything and anybody [as potential special teamers]. We are not eliminating anyone when it comes to position groups that maybe weren’t part of that aspect over the last couple years. We’re back to looking at some of those people. … We’re still weeding out what we like, what we don’t like, what we think can gain us an advantage, what are we going to prepare for that we think other teams may try. So, right now, this whole spring has been a great experience because we’re looking at things and doing things that I never thought I’d be doing.”
Houston Texans head coach DeMeco Ryans: “We’ve been practicing it since OTAs. We’ve been going through practice as much as possible, [but] obviously, you don’t know what’s going to happen until you get live action. What I noticed from the kickoff is it was definitely a lot of big hits, a lot of violent hits. I think it’s tough, the five-yard gap between the guys. It’s tough as a kickoff return unit to get back, get your feet set, and to actually get a guy blocked. It’s tough. So what you saw is a lot of guys running free, you saw returners running downhill full speed. So you saw a lot a lot more collisions than you’ve seen on a kickoff in the past couple years. So definitely some work to do when it comes to cleaning it up when you’re trying to get those blocks. It’s just tough to block a guy when he’s full speed. He’s on you at five yards, you got to turn around as quickly as possible [and] get your feet on the ground. I saw a lot of guys getting to the returner and a few big hits there. … It’s going to be interesting. We’ll see next week with 16 games going, I’m interested to see this after we get more looks at more data.”
Chicago Bears kick returner Tyler Scott: “If a kick is kind of short, guys are right up on you. You’ve got to make one cut and go. I think there’s benefits to that, because if one guy misses, then you’re good. But at the same time, if you make the wrong cut, somebody is right there. So far, I feel like it kind of protects guys a little bit more. Guys aren’t getting a full head of steam coming down the field, taking shots on people. But I think, for the most part, it’ll work out pretty good. Just think we’ll have a lot of explosive plays.”
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Minnesota Vikings special teams coordinator Matt Daniels: “I’m all for innovation and creativity. That’s kind of what the game needs. Not to say that the old kickoff felt a little staunch, but it’s good we’re looking to try to introduce a new kickoff rule where we increase the number of plays from a special teams standpoint [and] decrease the amount of concussions that take place. … This league does a great job of adapting and picking up schematics and truly what’s going on. That’s really what makes us elite. … It’s a challenge, but all of us should really embrace a challenge because that’s a part of our growth.”
Denver Broncos head coach Sean Payton: “The decision as to how much [we show] in the preseason would be very much like how much you want to show off offensively or defensively. Let’s not forget the importance of the preseason. We’re still trying to find the right 53 [players] and select the right players, so let’s give them stuff they know. We’re going to want to cover and return. We’re not going to want to kick touchbacks. I think the preseason will be important, but the first quarter pole of the season is going to be real important.”
Philadelphia Eagles head coach Nick Sirianni: “I know there will be some things in preseason. I am assuming [there are] not going to be a lot of people showing what they’re going to do. So game one, we have to hold some of our secrets until then. We have a plan. You’ll see in a couple of days.”
Cleveland Browns special teams coordinator Bubba Ventron: “I think coaches and teams are going to save a lot of their schemes, schematics for the regular season. I don’t think you’ll see a lot of variety in the preseason games. I don’t think I’ll show too much.”