John Fassel

American football player and coach (born 1974)

This article needs to be updated. Please help update this article to reflect recent events or newly available information. (January 2019)

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American football player

John FasselTennessee Titans

Position:| Special teams coordinator
Personal information
Born:|  (1974-01-10) January 10, 1974 (age 51)
Anaheim, California, U.S.
Career information
High school:| Morris Catholic
College:| Pacific (CA)
Weber State
Career history

As a coach:

* Bucknell (1999)
Wide receivers coach
* Amsterdam Admirals (2000)
Wide receivers coach and strength and conditioning coordinator
* Idaho State (2001)
Graduate assistant
* Bucknell (2002)
Wide receivers coach
* New Mexico Highlands (2003–2004)
Head coach and assistant athletic director
* Baltimore Ravens (2005–2007)
Assistant special teams coordinator
* Oakland Raiders (2008–2011)
Special teams coordinator
* St. Louis / Los Angeles Rams (2012–2019)
Special teams coordinator
* Los Angeles Rams (2016)
Interim head coach
* Dallas Cowboys (2020–2024)
Special teams coordinator
* Tennessee Titans (2025–present)
Special teams coordinator

Head coaching record
Regular season:| 0–3 (.000)
Career:| NFL: 0–3 (.000)
NCAA: 3–19 (.136)
Coaching profile at Pro Football Reference

John Fassel (born January 10, 1974) is an American professional football coach who is the special teams coordinator for the Tennessee Titans of the National Football League (NFL). He was previously the special teams coordinator for the Dallas Cowboys. He also served as a special teams coach for the Baltimore Ravens, Oakland Raiders and Los Angeles Rams, as well as interim head coach for the latter.

## Playing career

[edit]

### College

[edit]

Fassel graduated from Morris Catholic High School in 1992.[1] He prepped for two years at Milford Academy in New Berlin, New York before attending the University of the Pacific in Stockton, California, where he played on the Pacific Tigers football team before they dropped their program in December 1995.[2] He then played wide receiver at Weber State University and, following graduation, spent time as an undrafted rookie free agent for the Indianapolis Colts in the preseason of the 1999 season.

## Coaching career

[edit]

### Oakland Raiders

[edit]

On January 17, 2009, Oakland Raiders owner Al Davis promoted Fassel to special teams coordinator after Brian Schneider took a job with Pete Carroll at USC.[3]

At the end of the 2011 NFL season, the Oakland Raiders fired head coach Hue Jackson and the entire coaching staff, including Fassel. During the season, Fassel had three special teams players (K Sebastian Janikowski, P Shane Lechler, and LS Jon Condo) selected to the 2012 Pro Bowl.

### St. Louis/Los Angeles Rams

[edit]

On February 1, 2012, the St. Louis Rams announced the hiring of Fassel as their special teams coordinator.[4] Fassel took a lead role in developing the talents of kicker Greg Zuerlein, punter and holder Johnny Hekker and long snapper Jake McQuaide. 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.[5] On January 13, 2017, the day after being hired, new head coach Sean McVay invited Fassel to remain on the Rams coaching staff.[6]

### Dallas Cowboys

[edit]

On January 7, 2020, Fassel was hired by the Dallas Cowboys as their special teams coordinator. During his tenure in Dallas, Fassel aided in the development of kicker Brandon Aubrey, who earned multiple Pro Bowl honors in 2023 and 2024 as well as being named All-Pro in the latter.

### Tennessee Titans

[edit]

On January 20, 2025, the Tennessee Titans hired Fassel to serve as their special teams coordinator.[7]

## Personal life

[edit]

Fassel and his wife Elizabeth have three daughters.[8]

He is known by the nickname "Bones"[9] He is also the son of former NFL head coach Jim Fassel.[10]

On July 26, 2015, Fassel rescued a surfer who was drowning in the ocean in Manhattan Beach, California.[11]

## Head coaching record

[edit]

### College

[edit]

Year  | Team  | Overall  | Conference | Standing  | Bowl/playoffs

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New Mexico Highlands Cowboys (Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference) (2003–2004)
2003 | New Mexico Highlands  | 0–11 | 0–8 | 9th |
2004 | New Mexico Highlands  | 3–8 | 2–6 | T–7th |
New Mexico Highlands: | 3–19 | 2–14 |
Total: | 3–19 |

### Professional

[edit]

Team | Year | Regular season | Postseason

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|
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Won | Lost | Ties | Win % | Finish | Won | Lost | Win % | Result
*LAR | 2016 | 0 | 3 | 0 | .000 | 3rd in NFC West | – | – | – | –
Total | 0 | 3 | 0 | – |  | 0 | 0 | .000 |

*Interim head coach

## References

[edit]

1. ^ Greenspan, Dan, via Associated Press. "Morris Catholic grad to lead Los Angeles Rams", The Record, December 13, 2016. Accessed March 28, 2023. "That was especially true for interim coach John Fassel.... 'A lot has happened in a little amount of time,' said Fassel, a Morris Catholic graduate who has been the Rams’ special teams coordinator for five seasons."
2. ^ Armstrong, Kevin (November 17, 2012). "Ex-NY Giants coach Jim Fassel's son John has a motor that won't quit and NFL career on the rise". New York Daily News. Retrieved November 17, 2023.
3. ^ "Raiders promote John Fassel to run special teams". NFL.com. Archived from the original on January 9, 2017. Retrieved January 8, 2017.
4. ^ Jim Thomas (February 1, 2012). "Rams hire John Fassel as special teams coach". stltoday.com. Retrieved January 8, 2017.
5. ^ "John Fassel Named Rams Interim Head Coach". Los Angeles Rams. December 12, 2016. Archived from the original on December 12, 2016. Retrieved December 12, 2016.
6. ^ Klein, Gary (January 25, 2017). "John Fassel happy to remain Rams' special teams coordinator on Sean McVay's staff". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved October 17, 2024.
7. ^ "Tennessee Titans hiring John Fassel as special teams coordinator, report says". nbcsports.com. Retrieved January 22, 2025.
8. ^ "John Fassel: Special Teams Coordinator". DallasCowboys.com. Retrieved November 10, 2024.
9. ^ Klein, Gary (December 12, 2016). "Rams fire Coach Jeff Fisher; John Fassel is named interim coach with Seattle game looming Thursday". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved January 20, 2022.
10. ^ "Raiders tap Fassel for special teams". ESPN.com. Associated Press. January 17, 2009. Retrieved January 20, 2022.
11. ^ Clements, Ron (July 26, 2015). "Rams special teams coach John Fassel saves drowning man". Sporting News. Retrieved January 20, 2022.

## External links

[edit]

* Tennessee Titans profile

* v
* t
* e

NFL special teams coordinators

American Football Conference

| AFC East| AFC North| AFC South| AFC West

|
|
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* Chris Tabor (Buffalo Bills)
* Craig Aukerman (Miami Dolphins)
* Jeremy Springer (New England Patriots)
* Chris Banjo (New York Jets)

* Chris Horton (Baltimore Ravens)
* Darrin Simmons (Cincinnati Bengals)
* Raymond Ventrone (Cleveland Browns)
* Danny Smith (Pittsburgh Steelers)

* Frank Ross (Houston Texans)
* Brian Mason (Indianapolis Colts)
* Heath Farwell (Jacksonville Jaguars)
* John Fassel (Tennessee Titans)

* Darren Rizzi (Denver Broncos)
* Dave Toub (Kansas City Chiefs)
* Tom McMahon (Las Vegas Raiders)
* Ryan Ficken (Los Angeles Chargers)

National Football Conference

| NFC East| NFC North| NFC South| NFC West

|
|
|

* Nick Sorensen (Dallas Cowboys)
* Michael Ghobrial (New York Giants)
* Michael Clay (Philadelphia Eagles)
* Larry Izzo (Washington Commanders)

* Richard Hightower (Chicago Bears)
* Dave Fipp (Detroit Lions)
* Rich Bisaccia (Green Bay Packers)
* Matt Daniels (Minnesota Vikings)

* Marquice Williams (Atlanta Falcons)
* Tracy Smith (Carolina Panthers)
* Phil Galiano (New Orleans Saints)
* Thomas McGaughey (Tampa Bay Buccaneers)

* Jeff Rodgers (Arizona Cardinals)
* Chase Blackburn (Los Angeles Rams)
* Brant Boyer (San Francisco 49ers)
* Jay Harbaugh (Seattle Seahawks)

* v
* t
* e

New Mexico Highlands Cowboys head football coaches

* Walcott (1901)
* Don Gibson (1953–1964)
* Jack Scofield (1964–1966)
* John Levra (1967–1970)
* Les Davis (1971)
* Bill Lachapelle (1972)
* No team (1973)
* Salvador Gonzalez (1974–1975)
* Dan Antolik (1976–1978)
* Fred Bleil (1979–1982)
* Dennis Eckhoff (1983)
* Dan Shonka (1984–1986)
* Pat Darbro (1987–1988)
* George Martinez (1989–1991)
* Jim Ewan (1992–1995)
* Carl Ferrill (1996–1998)
* Ed Rifilato # (1999)
* Steve DaPrato (2000)
* Greg Critchett (2001–2002)
* John Fassel (2003–2004)
* Santos Carrillo (2005)
* Carl Ferrill (2006)
* Pablo Cano (2007)
* Chad Roanhaus (2008–2010)
* Eric Young (2011–2014)
* Jeff Mills (2015–2016)
* Marty Fine (2017–2019)
* Josh Kirkland (2020–2021)
* Ron Hudson (2022–2023)
* Kurt Taufa'asau (2024– )

# denotes interim head coach

* v
* t
* e

Los Angeles Rams head coaches

Formerly the Cleveland Rams (1936–1945) and St. Louis Rams (1995–2015)

* Damon Wetzel (1936)
* Hugo Bezdek (1937–1938)
* Art Lewis # (1938)
* Dutch Clark (1939–1942)
* No team (1943)
* Aldo Donelli (1944)
* Adam Walsh (1945–1946)
* Bob Snyder (1947)
* Clark Shaughnessy (1948–1949)
* Joe Stydahar (1950–1952)
* Hamp Pool (1952–1954)
* Sid Gillman (1955–1959)
* Bob Waterfield (1960–1962)
* Harland Svare (1962–1965)
* George Allen (1966–1970)
* Tommy Prothro (1971–1972)
* Chuck Knox (1973–1977)
* Ray Malavasi (1978–1982)
* John Robinson (1983–1991)
* Chuck Knox (1992–1994)
* Rich Brooks (1995–1996)
* Dick Vermeil (1997–1999)
* Mike Martz (2000–2005)
* Joe Vitt # (2005)
* Scott Linehan (2006–2008)
* Jim Haslett # (2008)
* Steve Spagnuolo (2009–2011)
* Jeff Fisher (2012–2016)
* John Fassel # (2016)
* Sean McVay (2017–present)

# denotes interim head coach
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