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THOUSAND OAKS, Calif. -- Yes, John Fassel was surprised. "I’m in the dungeon working on special teams day and night," he said. "That’s all I do." The Los Angeles Rams' special teams coordinator -- also one of their most well-liked, energetic employees -- is now the interim head coach, filling in for the next three games after Jeff Fisher was fired on Monday morning. Fassel is the son of longtime coach Jim Fassel, who spent 16 years on NFL coaching staffs and served as head coach for the Giants from 1997 to 2003. John Fassel has been running special teams for the Rams since 2012, the first year Fisher took over, and did the same for Oakland from 2009-11. He never really thought about doing anything else. "I can’t say, honestly, that the last five, six, eight years as a special teams coordinator I was coordinating special teams to become the head coach," Fassel said. "I can’t say that that was an aspiration. I wanted to be a great special teams coach, and if that’s all I did for the rest of my career, I’d be super happy doing that." Now Fassel is tasked with salvaging a lost first season back in Los Angeles. The Rams are coming off a 42-14 blowout loss to Atlanta that gave them eight defeats over a span of nine games. They're 4-9, and now they travel to face Seattle for a game that will kick off on Thursday night -- exactly 72 hours from the time Fassel took the podium at the Rams' facility late Monday afternoon. The Rams chose Fassel because he deals with players on both sides of the ball, because his unit is the most effective on the team and because of the boundless energy he brings. But Fassel, who will continue to run special teams, is admittedly underqualified for the role, so he will lean heavily on assistant head coach Dave McGinnis and defensive coordinator Gregg Williams, both of whom have been head coaches in the NFL. It has been a whirlwind stretch for Fassel. "We didn’t go to sleep last night," he said, "so I can’t say when I woke up this morning."  The 42-year-old found out he would be the interim coach about an hour before his typical special teams meeting. Rams COO Kevin Demoff announced his new title to the players shortly after Fisher addressed them in the locker room, but Fassel didn't want to say anything until he received Fisher's blessing. The two spoke for about an hour thereafter, with Fisher walking Fassel through the logistical details that would follow and telling him he would be around to help.
"It’ll be an interesting couple of days," Fassel said. "I love Coach Fisher, I respect the heck out of Coach Fisher. He gave me a great opportunity to come coach on his staff, and I’m going to try to do my best to make him proud over the next three weeks." Fassel understands this is only a temporary role. He didn't get any impression from the Rams' higher-ups that he would even be considered for the full-time role after these last three games. Demoff merely told Fassel to "go kick ass, bring some energy, be yourself." Fassel said "kick ass," or some iteration of it, three times during his first official news conference, and at one point he caught himself. "I don’t know if I’m allowed to say that," he said, laughing. "I say it in the meetings. I don’t curse, but I think that’s one I can probably get away with.” Fassel was born in Anaheim, California, played receiver at Weber State and spent some time as an undrafted free agent with Indianapolis during training camp in 1999. He then became a graduate assistant at Bucknell, working all the way up to his present role with the Rams. He has been on the sidelines watching his father since he was 5 years old, experiencing the highs and lows and uncertainty that came with being a coach. He watched his father suffer through the infamous botched snap from the Giants' 2002 wild-card loss to San Francisco, then experienced his firing the following season. "I kind of grew up knowing that that's part of it," Fassel said, "even though it's probably the worst part of the game." Fassel still hadn't had a chance to speak with Jim by the time he addressed the media. "I know, it's horrible," Fassel said, before looking directly at the closest camera. "I'll call you in a little bit, Dad, I promise." Fassel has a lot of work ahead of him. On Monday, he conducted his first practice. And afterwards, he formally addressed the team for the first time. It was brief. The message, as relayed by Fassel himself: "If you love 'ball, if you love Coach Fisher, that’s got to be enough to get us through these next three weeks."
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