One of the first decisions Robert Saleh made as the new head coach of the Tennessee Titans was to retain special teams coordinator John “Bones” Fassel. From the outside, this decision was a no-brainer after Fassel transformed the Titans’ special teams from dreadful to a weapon in one season.
As Jim Wyatt reports, Saleh was a fan and is excited to have him on the staff moving forward.
“I’ve coached against him a number of times,” Saleh said of Fassel. “And I know the special teams coordinator on my side of the field has always had sleepless nights leading into that week. His reputation not only as a football coach, but also as a person, is second to none. Just having him here is awesome.”
Fassel did a tremendous job in 2025, especially considering the revolving door of players he dealt with on a weekly basis. Tennessee finished inside the top 10 in punt return average (second at 16.6 yards per return), opponent kickoff return average (seventh, 24.9), and opponent net punting average (second at 37.1). They looked like a completely different unit than the disaster fielded by Colt Andersson in 2024.
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Under his guidance, rookie Chimere Dike added to Fassel’s impressive record of producing Pro Bowlers, earning first-team Associated Press All-Pro honors, and was named to the Pro Bowl after leading the NFL with a 17.3-yard average on punt returns. In his career as a special teams coordinator, 12 different players have accounted for a total of 22 Pro Bowl selections, with at least one player under his direction earning a Pro Bowl berth in 13 of his 17 seasons as a coordinator.
This article originally appeared on Titans Wire: Tennessee Titans: Robert Saleh says having John Fassel ‘is awesome’