When it comes to Special Teams, few fantasy football owners really take the time to investigate beyond kickers or, in some cases, return specialists. But if you take a deep dive into the coordinators -- who they are, what players they've been credited with helping and what the expectations are, suddenly you're not just selecting your defense based on the previous season's rankings or your kicker based on whether he kicks in a dome or not. The nuances aren't huge, but when most casual fantasy players pick their favorite team's D/ST or kicker for the fun of it, a more in-depth research approach can be the edge you need. Not to mention, for those who do love to play D/ST Bingo and rotate the units based on weekly match-ups, the chart below should help you make some decisions throughout the year. And don't forget, there's a lot to be said about a coordinator when a new coaching regime moves in and he's the only hold-over from the previous coaching group.
| 2018-19 | Team | 2017-18 | Coordinator | Years | Commentary |
| Rank | Rank | w/ Team | |||
| 1 | New York Jets | 25 | Brant Boyer | 4 | Eight-year NFL coaching veteran who expects a lot of his players, especially penalty-free play. In his last two years as the head of the Special Teams unit, the Jets committed just 22 penalties on special teams, the lowest in the NFL. He oversaw a career-year for second-year punter Lachlan Edwards last season and worked with kicker Chandler Catanzaro to improve to a 83.3% success rate on field goals and 100% success rate on extra-points. As the only holdover from the previous regime, you have to expect similar performances out off the Jets Special Teams this year. |
| 2 | Kansas City Chiefs | 4 | Dave Toub | 5 | Before Kansas City, Toub had the Bears special teams unit ranked in the top-third for eight-straight years. He worked closely with rookie Harrison Butler during his 2017 rookie campaign and the Chiefs led the league with 41 field goals that year, 38 of them from Butker alone. He is also credited for working with Tyreek Hill on punt returns, helping him to finish the year with25 returns for 204 yards and one touchdown. In addition to his job as the Special Teams coordinator, he was promoted to Assistant Head Coach for this season, but the added responsibility likely won't affect the Special teams unit's performance. |
| 3 | New York Giants | 32 | Thomas McGaughey | 2 | What a turnaround for the Giants after picking up McGaughey as their Special Teams coordinator. A lot of credit going to him for kicker Aldrick Rosas ' Pro Bowl season as well as punter Riley Dixon 's franchise-record of 41.8 net-yard average on 71 punts, due to both his blocking schemes and return coverage. He's received praise for his work with special teams coverage units at every stop in his career, beginning as an assistant with the Broncos and Giants and leading to full coordinator status with the Jets, 49ers, Panthers and now again with the Giants. It certainly makes drafting Rosas as your kicker a strong possibility. |
| 4 | Jacksonville Jaguars | 24 | Joe DeCamillis | 5 | This is his 30th year as a coach in the NFL and was the only hold-over from the previous regime when Doug Marrone took over as the head coach. His special teams unit was one of the few that opend the season in the overall top-10 and remained as such throughout the entire season. Last year, his unit ranked first in kick return average (17.8) and second in punt return coverage as the opposition netted just five yards per return. His kicker, Josh Lambo , before closing the season on IR, had a 90.5 FG% and was the first in franchise history to finish back-to-back seasons with a percentage of 90 or more. Given the improvements on offense, Lambo looks to have a busier season. |
| 5 | Houston Texans | 26 | Brad Seely | 2 | He did a fantastic job turning around the Texans Special Teams unit as they finished as a top-5 unit last season, his first at the helm in Houston. He's a 30-year coaching veteran in the NFL and seems to always make an immediate impact. For the Texans, the biggest improvement was in their coverage on kickoffs which shouldn't be much of a surprise if you know Seely. His coverage units on both kickoffs and punts have always been strong -- just look at the numbers during his three years with the Raiders prior to landing the job in Houston -- so if you want to know which team is winning the field-position battle regularly, look to the Texans this season. |
| 6 | Baltimore Ravens | 1 | Jerry Rossburg | 11 | Easily one of the very best in the business as the Ravens Special Teams unit continues to rank near the top each and every year. In fact, last season's rank of sixth overall was their worst in six years as the unit finished in the top-five for five-straight seasons prior. That's one heck of an accomplishment given the way personnel tends to change in the NFL. Under Rossberg, the Ravens have had six special teams players reach the Pro Bowl, including K Justin Tucker , LS Morgan Cox (twice each) and punter Sam Koch. Tucker remains a a top kicker to draft each season and the ravens continue to be strong with regard to the opposition's average field position each season. |
| 7 | Cincinnati Bengals | 21 | Darrin Simmons | 16 | Though he's been working with the Bengals Special teams unit for 16 years, this will be his seventh with the Coordinator title. Not that it really matters much as he's been credited with a vast number improvements on this team. And, obviously, it says a lot about a guy when a first-year head coach takes control and doesn't even consider bringing in his own guy. He is credited for the Pro Bowl seasons for LS Clark Harris and he helped guide undrafted free agent Alex Erickson to the AFC kickoff return title in 2017. He is also credited for his return work with Adam Jones and coverage work for Cedric peermna during their Pro Bowl years as well. If your league scores for return yards, keep the Bengals on your radar, for sure. |
| 8 | Washington Redskins | 22 | Nate Kaczor | 1 | After spending the last three seasons as the Special Teams coordinator for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Jay Gruden targeted Kaczor for the job after granting permission to his old coordinator, Ben Kotwica, to interview with other teams. Gruden cited the intensity he saw in the Bucs' unit when they played against each other and hoped to bring that same level of intensity to the Redskins players. Kaczor is credited for his work with punter Brian Anger who set franchise records back in 2016 in both punts inside the 20 (37) and net punting average (42.7), both top-five in the NFL. His coverage units were also lauded, particularly Josh Robinson who, in 2016, tied for third in the NFL with 12 solo special teams tackles and led the punt coverage unit to a ranking of fourth overall in the NFL. Despite his unit ranking just 29th last year, if Kaczor grabs the attention of his players early, this could be an interesting unit to watch this season. |
| 9 | New Orleans Saints | 15 | Darren Rizzi | 1 | Rizzi has some big shoes to fill as he replaces one of the most revered special teams coaches in Mike Westhoff who retired from coaching after last season. Westhoff had this unit humming last year, as evidenced by their top-10 ranking, while Rizzi took a 12th-ranked Miami Special Teams unit in 2017 and guided them straight to a ranking of 21st overall in 2018. Obviously, there were some personnel changes he had to deal with, but that's still not much of a resume-builder. He brought in assistants in Phil Galiano (also from Miami) and former player Michael Wilhoite to lend a hand, so we assume Rizzi will run a tight ship here. |
| 10 | Atlanta Falcons | 19 | Ben Kotwica | 1 | One of the new faces brought in by head coach Dan Quinn, Kotwica spent the last five seasons in the same role with the Washington Redskins and helped mold them into a top-10 unit last season. He's been praised for his work with kicker Dustin Hopkins whose 89.7 FG% ranked ninth overall last season and with the kickoff return coverage which, in 2017, had the second-lowest average return yards allowed. With Quinn potentially on the hot seat, Kotwica needs to keep this Falcons special teams unit in the top 10 of the league, where they finished last season. |
| 11 | Arizona Cardinals | 28 | Jeff Rodgers | 2 | Rodgers has been a Special Teams coordinator in the NFL since 2010, making stops in Carolina, Denver and Chicago, before arriving in Arizona last season. Head coach Kliff Kingsbury not only retained him from the previous regime, but also made him an Assistant Head Coach, so the respect is obviously there. Rodgers took over the Cardinals special teams and immediately turned things around, as evidenced by the rankings climb from 28th in 2017-18 to 11th last season according to DVOA numbers. He's been praised for his work with punter Andy Lee who set a franchise single-season record with a 48.6-yard punting average, so count on the Cardinals for winning that battle for field possition. |
| 12 | Indianapolis Colts | 8 | Bubba Ventrone | 2 | Ventrone was a former special teams player who ws well-travelled around the NFL with stops in New York (Jets), Cleveland, San Francisco and twice with the Patriots. He was hired as an assistant special teams coach by the Patriots in 2015 and after three seasons, was offered the coordinator job by Frank Reich and the Colts. His 14 years of experience in the NFL are going to continue to help him, though the pressure will be on to return Indy to a top-10 ranking in special teams once again. |
| 13 | Tennessee Titans | 13 | Craig Aukerman | 2 | Aukerman has actually been with the team for three years now, the first as an assistant, but quickly moved up the ranks and has been the coordinator for the last two years. The unti has been incredibly consistent during his three years and, last season, set a new NFL record for kickoff return average (32.0) making them the first team in league history to average more than 30 yards per kickoff return. Expect more of the same from this unit this season. |
| 14 | San Francisco 49ers | 11 | Richard Hightower | 3 | This will be Hightower's third season as the 49ers special teams coordinator, but had also been with them as an assistant back in 2015 before being hired by the Bears in 2016. He's done a great job with the team's punting unit, both in working with punter Bradley Pinion and the return coverage, and is expected to continue improving the unit this year, hopefully landing them in the Top 10. Not a big leap to make given their performance over the last two years. |
| 15 | Philadelphia Eagles | 16 | Dave Fipp | 7 | He's been entrenched as the coordinator since 2013 and since that first season, the Eagles have an NFL-leading 12 special teams touchdowns. While their ranking has dropped over the last two seasons, Fipp is very well-known for running a tight ship and getting results from his players. Expect better than a middling ranking during the 2019-20 season. |
| 16 | New England Patriots | 3 | Joe Judge | 5 | Judge was first hired by the Patriots as an assistant on special teams back in 2012, but quickly shot up the ranks and was named coordinator in 2015. He's been credited for the improvements on both kickoffs and return coverage with both units finishing third overall back in 2017 and is also lauded for his work with Stephen Gostkowski who was named to the Pro Bowl for three straight years starting in 2013. The unit did take a tumble last year due to a number of personnel changes, but Judge should have them back to a highly-ranked unit this season. |
| 17 | Los Angeles Rams | 2 | John Fassel | 8 | If it ain't broke, don't fix it, right? That was head coach Sean McVay's feeling when he took the reins of the Rams and kept fassel on as his Special Teams coordinator. Fassel is one of the most-respected coordinators here and gets the most out of his players each and every year. Even wehn kicker Greg Zuerlein was hurt, Fassel helped punter Johnny Hekker learn the ropes and had him fill in. One of his favorites, and special teams standout, LB Corey Littleton, landed a starting job on defense but stayed on special teams as well and put together an outstanding year with 125 tackles on defense and a pair of blocked punts. No worries about the drop in overall rank in 2018 as he spent most of the time patching together the return game due to injuries. This unit should be atop the rankings this season. |
| 18 | Carolina Panthers | 6 | Chase Blackburn | 4 | This is Blackburn's fourth year with the Panthers but just his second as the coordinator. He was an assistant on special teams his first two seasons as a coach until Ron Rivera promoted the former linebacker last season. He's still learning the ropes and the personnel continues to change on him so it's tough to see him finding a groove here in his second season as the top guy. Still, with Graham Gano as his kicker, he'll never be at the bottom of the rankings. He just needs to get more consistency from the return game and help bring out what we saw in 2017 when current Giants coordinator Thomas McGaughey was at the helm. |
| 19 | Detroit Lions | 5 | John Bonamego | 1 | After watching the Lions special teams unit drop from fifth to 15th in the league last year, the Lions brought back Bonamego who had served as their coordinator during the 2013-14 season before accepting the head coaching job over at Central Michigan. He's been more than just around the block in the NFL, having worked as either a special teams assistant or coordinator in the NFL since 1999. Though very well-travelled, Bonamego has had great success over the years and should be able to turn around a Lions team in dire need of a new identity. Head coach Matt Patricia definitely won't need to micro-manage this crew. |
| 20 | Minnesota Vikings | 18 | Marwan Maalouf | 2 | Before taking the coordinator job with the Vikings last season, Maalouf had been an assitant on special teams with the Dolphins since 2013 and had been credited with much of the work that led the Dolphins to a regular top-10 ranking, including fourth overall back in the 2017-18 season. He's been a part of numerous successful coverage teams and should help bring some stability to the Vikings special teams. Consider them a solid option heading into this season. |
| 21 | Miami Dolphins | 12 | Danny Crossman | 1 | New head coach Brian Flores did himself a favor by bringing in Crossman to head up the special teams unit this season. A 17-year NFL special teams coach veteran, Crossman has been lauded for turning around units in Carolina, Detroit and despite the team's rank of 32 last year, Buffalo as well. Expect an aggressive style in return coverage which could lead to some decent turnover numbers, though he will have to keep the unit disciplined so that aggressiveness doesn't result in an abundance of penalties. |
| 22 | Oakland Raiders | 17 | Rich Bisaccia | 2 | When Jon Gruden took over in Oakland, he immediately brought his former Bucs special teams man over with him, yanking him away from the Dallas Cowboys where he served in the same role. Bisaccia is a 17-year veteran of the NFL coaching ranks and was also given the title of Assistant Head Coach, so you know Gruden puts all of hi trust into him. And rightfully so as Bisaccia has seen tremendous success over the years, helping guide the Cowboys to two NFC East titles during his tenure while also keeping the special teams unit as a top-10 ranked unit. The Raiders are rebuilding here so don't worry about the ranking drop last season. They'll be back towards the top in no time. |
| 23 | Dallas Cowboys | 7 | Keith O'Quinn | 9 | After serving as a pro scout for the Cowboys, O'Quinn joined the coaching ranks in 2010 on the offensive side of the ball. In 2014, then special teams coordinator Rich Bisaccia invited O'Quinn to serve as an assistant for his unit and his education in special teams really began. When Bisaccia left to join Jon Gruden's staff in Oakland, O'Quinn was promoted and has been at the helm ever since. The unit really struggled in the kicking game following the departure of Dan Bailey , but the coverage units have remained solid. He is tryin to help rebuild this unit to where they were just five years ago, but it remains a work in progress for now. |
| 24 | Seattle Seahawks | 20 | Brian Schneider | 10 | Schneider has been at the helm of the Seahawks special teams since 201 and in that time, his units have ranked fourth in the NFL in touchdowns/safeties scored, second in takeayas and third overall in blocked kicks. They struggled last year with a rookie punter, Michael Dickson , and an aging, veteran kicker in Sebastian Janikowski , but a fresh start with a unit returning numerous players should allow for some improved continuity this season. They won't be your favorite unit in the NFL, but from a fantasy standpoint, they should suffice as a final-round selection. |
| 25 | Los Angeles Chargers | 31 | George Stewart | 3 | While Stewart is a 30-year veteran of the coaching ranks, this is just his third season as the Charger special team coordinator. Prior to that, he spent 10 years as the Vikings wide receivers coach. He is credited for his work with Travis Benjamin as a punt returner as well as with punter Drew Kaser who ranked third overall in punting average during Stewart's first year. Overall, the unit has steadily improved over Stewart's tenure and should continu etheir upward trajectory this season, barring any catastrophic changes to their kicking unit, something they struggled with for years prior to Stewart joining the team. |
| 26 | Chicago Bears | 23 | Chris Tabor | 2 | This is Tabor's second season as the Bears special teams coordinator and actually his second sstint with the team. He previously served as an assistant special teams coach for Chicago from 2008 through 2010 and then took the special teams coordinator job with the Browns, a position he held for seven seasons. Tabor is credited for his work with return man Tarik Cohen who earned Pro Bowl honors last year and led the NFL in punt return yardage. Tabor's coverage units have always been solid and he should continue to help the Bears special teams improve over the course of the next season. |
| 27 | Pittsburgh Steelers | 9 | Danny Smith | 7 | Smith, a 22-year veteran of the NFL coaching ranks, enters his seventh season as the Steelers special teams coordinator and has typically had them atop the rankings each and every year. Last season, the kicking game became a nightmare and led to a significant driop in the rankings, but we'll see wwhat happens with Chris Boswell this season. Smith was the reason they added Matthew Wright to the roster, so don't be surpirsed if there's a kicking change here. Smith prides himself on his coverage units and the Steelers should continue to perform well in that department. But for fantasy purposes, keep a close watch on the kicker battle this summer. |
| 28 | Green Bay Packers | 14 | Shawn Mennenga | 1 | New head coach Matt LaFleur went with a relatively fresh face for his first tour as the Packers head coach. Mennenga was the special teams coordinator for Vanderbilt University last season, but prior to that, he served as an assistant coach on special teams with the Browns underneath Chris Tabor where the team really thrived with their punting unit. Mennenga will be tasked with turning around a unit that really struggled last season to find any sort of consistency last year. Not exactly a ringing endorsement, but they should certainly find some ways to improve this year. |
| 29 | Tampa Bay Buccaneers | 29 | Keith Armstrong | 1 | Armstrong takes over the Bucs special teams after spending the previous 10 seasons in the same role with the Atlants Falcons. The kicking game was always highly-ranked, though Matt Bryant probably deserves most of that credit. However, Armstrong was certainly responsible for helping the Falcons punting unit which was one of the top coverage units in the league for multiple seasons. He'll be tasked with improving this unit which has been near the bottom over the past few seasons, so while better days may be ahead, you probably need to hedge on your selection here for team defense/special teams. |
| 30 | Denver Broncos | 30 | Tom McMahon | 2 | He's a 27-year coaching veteran at the NFL level, but Mcmahon has only headed up special teams units over the last 12 seasons with stops in St. Louis, Kansas City and Indianapolis. The results can be tough to see, but the Broncos unit has gradually improved in a variety of ways from FG defense to punt coverage and should continue to improve with another season to implement his philosophies. Consider this group a unit on the rise this season. |
| 31 | Cleveland Browns | 27 | Mike Priefer | 1 | Head coach Freddie Kitchens wasn't messing around when he said the Browns special teams unit needed to be better and he brought in Preifer who spent the previous seven seasons as the special teams coordinator for the Vikings. Prior to that, he split time between the Broncos and Cheifs in the same capacity, rounding out 13 strong seasons at the special teams helm. He's been credited with improving the performances of players like David Tyree, Blair Walsh , Chris Hanson and return-specialist Cordarrelle Patterson , all of whome have received Pro Bwl honors. He certainly has his work cut out for him this season, but the Browns are a team on the rise and their special teams units should ascend with the rest of the team. |
| 32 | Buffalo Bills | 10 | Heath Farwell | 1 | With Danny Crossman heading over to Miami, the Bills went with a newbie this season in farwell who has only served as a special teams assistant, two years with Seattle and one with Carolina, during his short coaching career. But Harwell was a standout on special teams dduring his playing days in both Seattle and Minnesota and should help the attitude and image of a unit that ranked dead-last last season. This isn't where you want to go for fantasy purposes, but you may want to keep the unit on your watch list should farwell turn into a Coach of the Year candidate. |