John

Fassel

Fassel has spent the last five seasons with the Cowboys but was free to speak with other teams following the dismissal of head coach Mike McCarthy. Fassel has held roles as a special teams coordinator since 2008 and moonlighted as an interim head coach for the Rams in 2016 for three games, where he went 0-3. In the first season with the new dynamic kickoff rule, the Cowboys ranked second in total kick return yards and first in yards per return. Having electric return man KaVontae Turpin certainly helped with those numbers, but Fassel is a widely respected special teams coach who should help elevate the Titans’ unit next season.

It’s been a nice day for the Cowboys, as they are expected to retain OC Kellen Moore and added one of the league’s best special teams coordinators in Fassel. The Rams have been innovative and situationally aggressive on special teams, things the Dallas coaching staff lacked under ex-coach Jason Garrett.

The son of Jim, John has been the Rams’ third-unit coordinator for the entirety of the Jeff Fisher era. He won’t be a candidate for the permanent position, and isn’t exactly distinguished as a special teamer. With the Seahawks, 49ers and Cardinals on tap, Fassel will need to beat San Francisco if he wants his Wikipedia to say he’s won an NFL game.

Fassel seemed like a player’s favorite, but needless to say, the special teams man will not be getting the full-time job. Just 42 (next week), Fassel will hang around as a special teams coordinator.

Fassel served as the Rams’ interim coach after Jeff Fisher was fired late in the 2016 season. He interviewed for the permanent position earlier this month but was never considered a serious candidate. That job now belongs to former Redskins OC Sean McVay. 2017 will mark Fassel’s sixth year as the Rams’ special teams coordinator.