John Fassel (born January 10, 1974) is an

American football American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team wi ...

coach who is the

special teams coordinator In American football, the specific role that a player takes on the field is referred to as their "position". Under the modern rules of American football, both teams are allowed 11 players on the field at one time and have "unlimited free substitu ...

for the

Dallas Cowboys The Dallas Cowboys are a professional American football team based in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. The Cowboys compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East divi ...

of the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the ...

(NFL). He was previously the special teams coordinator and interim head coach for the Los Angeles Rams. He also served as a special teams coach for the

Baltimore Ravens The Baltimore Ravens are a professional American football team based in Baltimore, Maryland. The Ravens compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) North division. The team plays it ...

and Oakland Raiders.

Playing career

College

Fassel prepped for two years at

Milford Academy Milford Academy is a post-secondary school founded in 1916 as Yale Preparatory School. It has been located in New Berlin, New York since 2004. Although founded as a preparatory school, its current focus is as a school for athletes who have th ...

New Berlin, New York New Berlin is a town in Chenango County, in central New York, United States. The population was 2,682 at the 2010 census. The town contains the village of New Berlin. The town is at the eastern border of the county and is northeast of Norwich. ...

before attending the University of the Pacific in Stockton, California, where he played on the

Pacific Tigers football The Pacific Tigers football team represented the University of the Pacific (United States), University of the Pacific in NCAA Division I-A (now FBS) college football. The team competed in the Big West Conference during their last season in 1995. Th ...

team before they dropped their program in December 1995. He then played wide receiver at

Weber State University Weber State University (pronounced ) is a public university in Ogden, Utah. It was founded in 1889 as Weber Stake Academy. It is accredited by the Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities. History Weber State University was founded ...

and, following graduation, spent time as an undrafted rookie free agent for the Indianapolis Colts in the preseason of the 1999 season.

Coaching career

Oakland Raiders

On January 17, 2009, Oakland Raiders owner Al Davis promoted Fassel to special teams coordinator after Brian Schneider took a job with

Pete Carroll Peter Clay Carroll (born September 15, 1951) is an American football coach who is the head coach and executive vice president for the Seattle Seahawks of the National Football League (NFL). He was previously the head football coach at USC from ...

at USC. At the end of the 2011 NFL season, the Oakland Raiders fired head coach

Hue Jackson Hue Jackson (born October 22, 1965) is an American football coach who is the head football coach at Grambling State University. An offensive assistant at both the collegiate and professional levels, he held coordinator positions in the Nation ...

and the entire coaching staff, including Fassel. During the season, Fassel had three special teams players (K

Sebastian Janikowski Sebastian Paweł Janikowski (; born March 2, 1978) is a Polish former American football placekicker who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 18 seasons, primarily with the Oakland Raiders. He played college football at Florida State ...

, P Shane Lechler, and LS Jon Condo) selected to the 2012 Pro Bowl.

St. Louis/Los Angeles Rams

On February 1, 2012, the St. Louis Rams announced the hiring of Fassel as their special teams coordinator. Fassel took a lead role in developing the talents of kicker Greg Zuerlein, punter and holder

Johnny Hekker John Robert Hekker (born February 8, 1990) is an American football punter for the Carolina Panthers of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Oregon State and was signed by the St. Louis Rams as an undrafted free age ...

and long snapper

Jake McQuaide Jacob McQuaide (born December 7, 1987) is an American football long snapper for the Detroit Lions of the National Football League (NFL). He was signed by the St. Louis Rams as an undrafted free agent in 2011. McQuaide played college football at ...

. Together, Zuerlein, Hekker, and McQuaide have combined for seven Pro Bowl appearances and remained together as a unit for seven seasons going into the 2019 season. Under Fassel's guidance, Rams players earned NFC Special Teams Player of the Week honors 15 times. On December 12, 2016, Fassel was announced as the interim head coach for the Los Angeles Rams, after the firing of

Jeff Fisher Jeffrey Michael Fisher (born February 25, 1958) is an American football coach who is the head coach and general manager for the Michigan Panthers of the United States Football League (USFL). He is a former cornerback and return specialist. He ...

. On January 13, 2017, the day after being hired, new head coach

Sean McVay Sean McVay (born January 24, 1986) is an American football coach who is the head coach for the Los Angeles Rams of the National Football League (NFL). He became the youngest NFL head coach in the modern era when he was hired by the Rams in 201 ...

invited Fassel to remain on the Rams coaching staff.

Dallas Cowboys

On January 7, 2020, Fassel was hired by the

as their special teams coordinator.

Personal life

Fassel, who is of

German descent , native_name_lang = de , region1 = , pop1 = 72,650,269 , region2 = , pop2 = 534,000 , region3 = , pop3 = 157,000 3,322,405 , region4 = , pop4 = ...

, and his wife Elizabeth have two daughters, Lilah and Avery. He is known by the nickname "Bones" He is also the son of former NFL head coach

Jim Fassel James Edward Fassel (August 31, 1949 – June 7, 2021) was an American college and professional football player and coach. He was the head coach of the New York Giants of the National Football League (NFL) from 1997 to 2003. He was offensive coor ...

. On July 26, 2015, Fassel rescued a surfer who was drowning in the ocean in Manhattan Beach, California.

Head coaching record

College

Professional

*Interim head coach

References

External links

Dallas Cowboys profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Fassel, John 1974 births Living people American football wide receivers Amsterdam Admirals coaches Baltimore Ravens coaches Bucknell Bison football coaches Dallas Cowboys coaches Los Angeles Rams coaches Los Angeles Rams head coaches New Mexico Highlands Cowboys football coaches Oakland Raiders coaches Pacific Tigers football players St. Louis Rams coaches Weber State Wildcats football players Players of American football from Anaheim, California