Mike McCarthy did not hesitate to surround himself with experienced and respected assistant coaches after arriving in Dallas. This mindset was on full display when McCarthy and the Cowboys front office decided to hand the special team coordinator reins over to John Fassel.
A visibly reinvigorated Fassel spoke to the Dallas media for the first time since he joined the Cowboys, and provided a few insights on his philosophy entering the 2020 season with his new team.
Fassel spent the greater part of the decade turning the Rams special teams unit from a run of the mill group into consistently one of the very best in the NFL. He is faced with a similar challenge in Dallas, as the Cowboys are coming off their statistically worst special teams season of the decade.
When asked what might have caused the Cowboys special team struggles last season Fassel responded, “I can’t answer to that. I’m going into this with a blank slate for myself and for every person who has been on this team.”
Fassel stated he had done nothing but watch film since he landed in Dallas only a week ago, and that playing the Cowboys with the Rams each of the last three seasons gave him an added familiarity with the special teams unit he now controls.
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Fassel, similarly to McCarthy, echoed a mentality of self-awareness and self-improvement as a coach.
McCarthy’s stint with the Packers and Fassel’s with the Rams are oddly comparable; both were considered elite coaches at their respective coaching positions for the vast majority of those years, but both coaches became available after only two seasons of lackluster results. This mindset of accepting and embracing change in their own coaching methods hint that Fassel and McCarthy can put aside their ego and adapt to the ever-changing game of football.
A staple of Fassel’s time in St. Louis and Los Angeles was his willingness to fake a punt or kick if the situation saw fit. He attributed this strategy to the players he was coaching, including two punters who were former quarterbacks. For that reason, the tricky tendencies Fassel was once known for aren’t guaranteed to follow him to Dallas.
Fassel also brings qualities he doesn’t need to reinvent at all.
Those include a passion and understanding of the importance of special teams in today’s game. The personnel and player development are big parts of coaching special teams, however, Fassel told the media what he believes to be the most important factors of a successful special teams unit: chemistry, pride in your play, and convincing players that the special teams players are just as valuable as the offense or defense.
Fassel spoke on the simplistic scheme he likes to employ and how that can help players.
“It goes back to the intangible part of it. I think we want a very aggressive mind-set, some very simple schematics. We’re going to be super technique driven, kinda giving the message to the players right now, kinda running a team meeting through [the media] right now. I think it’s important on special teams to keep things simple — make them very technique oriented where they feel really comfortable with their assignment. But then they can master their techniques because it really isn’t a complex part of the game. The players and the unit can really get to their technique faster so they can win,” Fassel said, according to DallasNews.com’s Calvin Watkins.
The son of an NFL coach himself, Fassel even broke out an old quote from Hall of Fame coach George Allen; “They say it’s a third (offense), a third (defense), and a third (special teams), and that’s what it is.” Mike McCarthy shares the same thoughts on the importance of the third, often forgotten, phase of football, and that helped to sell Fassel on joining the Dallas coaching staff.
Whether this translates to on field success or not is a big question that is yet to be seen. It’s clear though that the Cowboys new coaching staff, including John Fassel, are attempting to make special teams more of a priority than it was in the past in Dallas.
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