It feels like forever ago that the Cowboys’ special teams were an embarrassment. Keith O’Quinn took over that side of the ball for Rich Bisaccia, who departed for the Raiders. Bisaccia had delivered three straight seasons of Dallas ranking in the top ten in special teams DVOA, but O’Quinn immediately tanked that; the Cowboys finished 23rd and 30th in his two years as coordinator.
That’s one reason why John Fassel was the first call Mike McCarthy made when taking the job. Fassel’s unit improved to seventh in special teams DVOA in his first year and they climbed to sixth this year.