Dallas' skeleton coaching crew, meet Bones.
The Cowboys are expected to hire Los Angeles Rams special teams coordinator John Fassel in the same capacity, sources told NFL Network's Tom Pelissero and Ian Rapoport on Tuesday.
Fassel, nicknamed "Bones," has been with the Rams since 2012 when then-coach Jeff Fisher hired him after four seasons with the Raiders. When Fisher was fired during the 2016 season, Fassel took over as interim head coach before being retained as special teams coordinator by new Rams coach Sean McVay.
Fassel's contract was up following the 2019 season and is the second high-ranking assistant to part ways with the Rams this offseason (Wade Phillips).
The highly regarded Fassel, three days out from his 46th birthday, will round out what Pelissero termed a "super-staff" in Dallas. New Cowboys coach Mike McCarthy is expected to hire Mike Nolan as his defensive coordinator and Fassel as his ST coordinator, and hot-shot offensive coordinator Kellen Moore is leaning toward staying in Dallas despite being courted by his home-state Washington Huskies.
Fassel will be tasked with improving what was considered one of the league's worst special-teams units in Dallas, one that suffered from miscommunications in the return game and inconsistency in the place-kicking game. The Cowboys ranked 30th in Football Outsiders' Special Teams DVOA under coordinator Keith O'Quinn in 2019.
With Fassel, as with McCarthy, comes over a decade of experience in the position, Super Bowl prowess and an air of respectability. It's up to coach and coordinator to instill that in this Cowboys roster for years to come.
