With the NFL making a rule change this offseason that allows a team to call fair catch on a kickoff and automatically take the ball at the 25-yard line after a touchback, many are wondering if the NFL should simply eliminate kickoffs entirely. But New York Giants special teams coordinator Thomas McGaughey is certainly not in favor of that.
“I’d never say that, because that’s my livelihood,” McGaughey said according to Pro Football Talk.
But even though he’d never advocate for the NFL eliminating kickoffs entirely, he does understand that it’s going to change how he coaches the game and how his players play the game.
“The rule itself is just something we’ll just have to get used to,” McGaughey said. “It’s like any other rule change. You just make the adjustments and just keep moving forward. I’m going to keep coaching the guys the same way. It’s not going to change. We’re going to coach up the fundamentals and the techniques, the schematics will be the same, and we’ll just go from there. You just make the adjustments and see what happens.”
It will certainly be interesting to see how teams approach kickoffs this coming season as a result of the rule change.
