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joram
why was fassell fired?
Fassell wasn't fired. His contract expired at the end of 2019 and wasn't renewed. However, I found this September 2021 article about Fassel in the Dallas Morning News to be pretty eye opening.
John Fassel’s recklessness on special teams will one day get Cowboys head coach Mike McCarthy fired
And when it happens, McCarthy will have only himself to blame.
By Jean-Jacques Taylor
9:40 AM on Sep 21, 2021
One day, John Fassel is going to get Cowboys coach Mike McCarthy fired.
Guaranteed.
And when it happens, McCarthy will have only himself to blame because he lets Fassel run amuck without any known consequences.
Fassel is a good special teams coach, which is why the Cowboys improved across the board in virtually every category last year, his first with the Cowboys.
According to former Dallas Morning News columnist Rick Gosselin, whose annual special team rankings are respected throughout the NFL, the Cowboys finished 11th in 2020. They were 31st in 2019.
So Fassel deserves some credit for the improvement, but he genuinely seems oblivious to the fact that special teams should be about avoiding the disastrous play -- not making the spectacular play.
It’s among the reasons Los Angeles Rams coach Sean McVay let Fassel’s contract expire after the 2019 season following seven seasons as Rams special teams coach.
McVay was tired of the poppycock.
You have to wonder if McCarthy will ever reach that threshold, especially if it didn’t occur after a failed punt block attempt in the Cowboys’ 20–17 win over the Chargers.
With two minutes left in the first half and Dallas leading, 14-11, Fassel made the ridiculous decision to call an all-out punt block on fourth and 20 from the Chargers 46.
The Cowboys roughed the punter and the ensuing personal foul resulted in an automatic first down.
The Chargers used all but three seconds of the first half before missing a 44-yard field goal attempt.
The Cowboys’ offense, which had moved the ball consistently well in the first half, had one play before time expired but no real opportunity to increase their lead.
Well, the day after that decision Fassel justified it with the dumbest quote I’ve heard in 26 years of covering the Cowboys, spanning one loquacious owner, seven head coaches and dozens of assistants.
Nothing, however, topped Fassel’s words.
“The thought process was I think Cowboys fans aren’t the play-it-safe type,” Fassel told reporters Monday. “I was going to give them what they wanted, come after (them) on the punt rush.
“So I hope they’re happy with it. We came after him. [That’s] kind of the mindset going into the game: We’re going to come after this football, but I’m still not so sure we actually roughed him.”
Dumb. Dumb. Dumb.
McCarthy would be justified in firing Fassel for this statement alone.
Teams and coaches should never ever make decisions based on fans and media.
Coaches spend hundreds of man hours each week preparing and studying their opponent. They examine tendencies and personnel and they’ve been doing it for decades by the time they reach the NFL.
They’re making decisions based on data as opposed to fans and media, who typically create those decisions based on emotion.
Fassel has been in the NFL since 2005, when he joined the Baltimore Ravens as an assistant special teams coach, and he’s developed quite the reputation for being a daring special teams coach who would fake it every fourth down if he could.
There’s nothing wrong with being aggressive, but Fassel is reckless.
The Cowboys were 0-4 on fake punts last year, including the debacle on Thanksgiving Day.
Against Washington, the Cowboys went for it on fourth-and-10 from their own 24 while trailing, 20-16, with 12:21 left.
Washington dropped Cedrick Wilson for a one-yard loss on a play that never had a chance to work. On the next play, Antonio Gibson went 23 yards off left tackle for a touchdown and a 27-16 lead.
Washington won 41-16.
Fassel had an excuse why that play didn’t work. If he had called it earlier in the game, it would’ve worked, he said, but we didn’t.
“You could absolutely second-guess it, and I’m OK with that,” Fassel said of Sunday’s failed punt block. “Part of our game plan was to come after them with a real aggressive mindset. Give the Cowboys fans something they were looking for.”
At this rate, one day soon, he will be watching games with Cowboys’ fans, and McCarthy will be sitting right next to him.
[www.dallasnews.com]
Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 10/27/2021 10:24AM by MamaRAMa.
