NFL Special Teams Coach Blasts 'Bulls--t' Kickoff Rule Change Ahead of 2024 Season
May 6, 2024
There doesn't appear to be unanimous support among NFL coaches regarding the new kickoff rules that will be implemented in the 2024 season.
"It's bulls--t," a longtime special teams coach told Jeff Howe of The Athletic. "This is what the league wanted for years. But you can either complain about it or adapt and find a way."
On March 26, NFL owners passed a new hybrid kickoff rule that will begin in 2024. The rule contains new alignments for both the kicking and receiving teams. The kicker will remain at the 35-yard line, although the remaining 10 members of the kicking unit will start at the opponents' 40-yard line.
As for the returning team, at least nine players will begin in the "setup zone" while the remaining one or two players will stay in the "landing zone" to return the kick. Kickoffs that hit the landing zone must be returned, although kickoffs that go into the end zone and stay inbounds that are downed would result in the ball being placed at the receiving team's 30-yard line.
No player other than the kicker and the one or two returners are permitted to move until the ball hits the landing zone, and fair catches are not allowed.
The new rule was implemented to potentially decrease the amount of injuries due to the lack of distance between both teams, meaning that players will likely be building up less speed before they collide into one another.
The rule isn't universally disliked, with Baltimore Ravens head coach John Harbaugh discussing his support of the new rule after it was first announced.
"The kickoff return has been around for a long time in football," Harbaugh said, per Clifton Brown of the team's official website. "I'm passionate about that myself. I think for Roger [Goodell] to be championing that and getting behind that and to be exploring every opportunity to keep the kickoff return in the game and make it exciting, that's what I'm happy about. I think it's the right thing to do."
The new rule is only in place for the 2024 season, although it is subject to renewal in 2025.