Newly minted head coach Mike McCarthy is hard at work building his supporting staff for the Dallas Cowboys.
Although he hasn’t been officially announced, long-time defensive guru Mike Nolan will be the team’s defensive coordinator. The team is working hard to bring Kellen Moore’s brain back to the offensive trust. The newest member of the movement appears to be John “Bones” Fassel, formerly the special teams coach of both the St. Louis and Los Angeles Rams as well as the Oakland Raiders.
The #Cowboys are expected to hire John “Bones” Fassel as their special teams coordinator, sources tell me and @RapSheet. One of the NFL’s best. Fassel’s contract was up with the #Rams, whom he helped to the Super Bowl last season. Mike McCarthy building a superstaff in Dallas.
— Tom Pelissero (@TomPelissero) January 8, 2020
Special teams was a constant headache for Dallas in 2019.
The performance was abysmal and while much blame can be placed at the feet of kicker Brett Maher, he wasn’t the sole culprit. It was a complete systemic failure from the coaching staff.
Since Keith O’Quinn took over for former special teams coach Rich Bisaccia following the 2017 season, his unit was outmatched on a regular basis.
Fassel brings a strong resume. Though his special teams unit fell off to slightly below average the last two seasons with the Rams, what he’d done the five years prior was incredible. Here’s how Fassel’s units have ranked since he entered the NFL in 2008 with Oakland.
| Year | Team | DVOA | Rank |
| 2008 | OAK | 6.50% | 2 |
| 2009 | OAK | -0.30% | 17 |
| 2010 | OAK | 1.80% | 13 |
| 2011 | OAK | -1.00% | 20 |
| 2012 | STL | -3.40% | 26 |
| 2013 | STL | 6.30% | 4 |
| 2014 | STL | 3.50% | 7 |
| 2015 | STL | 2.40% | 7 |
| 2016 | LAR | 7.10% | 3 |
| 2017 | LAR | 6.80% | 2 |
| 2018 | LAR | -0.20% | 18 |
| 2019 | LAR | -1.80% | 23 |
The last time the Cowboys had a top-five special teams unit by DVOA was 1998. A guy by the name of Troy Aikman was still playing quarterback.
THIS JUST IN — Cowboys hiring John “Bones” Fassel as their special teams coordinator per @TomPelissero
This guy might be my favorite hire … period!!! 👏🏽👏🏽👏🏽👏🏽 (H/T @NFLFilms) #DallasCowboys pic.twitter.com/VWyYjY4wQc
— T̷R̷O̷Y̷ ̷H̷U̷G̷H̷E̷S̷ (@TommySledge) January 8, 2020
Fassel’s resume also includes a penchant for fakes. Some of those calls seemingly aren’t run by the head coach as was the case in the Rams’ 2019 finale against the Arizona Cardinals.
Sean McVay was not happy about John Fassel's fake punt attempt.
"What are you doing?!" pic.twitter.com/xdVRNul5Bq
— Cameron DaSilva (@camdasilva) December 29, 2019
It’s unclear if this was the straw that broke the camel’s back for the relationship between McVay and Fassel, but the Rams’ loss appears to be Dallas’s gain. It would be nearly impossible to downgrade from the unit that the Cowboys put on the field last year, and McCarthy, who suffered from poor special teams during his tenure in Green Bay, is doing what he can to avoid a similar pitfall in his new home.
[vertical-gallery id=637526][lawrence-newsletter]