Cowboys Plan to Upgrade Special Teams With Hiring of Rams Coach John Fassel

FRISCO - The Dallas Cowboys' 2019 special teams may not have been the poorest in the NFL according to the statistics. But The Eye Test demanded an upgrade, and new head coach Mike McCarthy is engineering just that.

Young Keith O'Quinn held the special-teams coordinator role in 2019 and it did not go well for his overwhelmed group. We were told a month ago that O'Quinn, who has personal support from people in the scouting department, might be moved back there. And we reported earlier on Tuesday in our Cowboys Coaching Tracker that McCarthy was in pursuit of Rams special-teams boss John Fassel, one of the best in the business.

#Cowboys Staff Tracker: Naming Names On Who Could Work For New Coach McCarthy - And Some at The Star Advice for the New 'Ball Guy' https://t.co/kBxYcpnDHC via @SInow pic.twitter.com/sa3tkXjoIU
— fishsports ✭ (@fishsports) January 8, 2020

We don't know all the other changes that can come as a result of this, with NFL Network now reporting that Fassel to Dallas is an essentially done team. Phillip Tanner and Carlos Polk worked in this department in 2019, and Tanner, the DFW kid and former Cowboys running back, in particular, has a spark to the way he does his job.

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

But Fassel? At age 45, he has more than a decade of experience as one of the best in the business and is so respected in the NFL that he's even done a stint as an interim head coach.

Fassel - the son of former NFL head coach Jim Fassel - will be an important part of the puzzle. Want more pieces? Click in to our Cowboys Coaching Tracker here.