The Los Angeles Rams coaching staff will be undergoing some changes this offseason after the team announced that they would not be bringing back both defensive coordinator Wade Phillips and running backs coach Skip Peete for the 2020 season.
It is unclear who the Rams will target as replacements, but they still have plenty of time to make those decisions with the 2019 season just ending.
There is going to be another position on the staff to replace as well as Tom Pelissero of NFL Network is reporting that Mike McCarthy and the Dallas Cowboys are set to hire Rams special teams coordinator John Fassel:
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
Fassel, who the players refer to as “Bones,” has been with the Rams since 2012 and is one of the more popular coaches in the sport. He took over as interim head coach in 2016 after Jeff Fisher was fired, and then Sean McVay retained him to his staff when he was hired at the conclusion of the season.
The Rams have consistently had one of the better special teams units in the league under Fassel, so this would represent a big loss if he leaves for the Cowboys.
While it was hard to imagine him leaving his situation with the Rams where he gets to coach great players like Johnny Hekker and Greg Zuerlein, Fassel’s contract was up this offseason so it is possible that L.A. didn’t have plans to renew it.
There will now be a ton of pressure on McVay and general manager Les Snead to find viable replacements for these coaches to get the team back into postseason contention in 2020.
