Committed: Cowboys Signed Nick Sorensen As Special Teams Coordinator

The Dallas Cowboys have continued to build a coaching staff around new Head Coach Brian Schottenheimer and are now expected to hire former San Francisco 49ers defensive coordinator Nick Sorensen as the team’s special teams coordinator.

Schottenheimer and Sorensen have spent multiple years of their coaching careers together, including four straight seasons with the Seattle Seahawks and Jacksonville Jaguars.

Schottenheimer worked as the Seahawks’ offensive coordinator from 2018 to 2020, while Sorensen served as the team’s defensive backs coach.

The two continued to work together in the 2021 season with the Jaguars, as Schottenheimer worked as the team’s quarterback coach and passing game coordinator while Sorensen worked in his first major role as the special teams coordinator.

However, Schottenhiemer then moved into an offensive role with the Cowboys and Sorensen transitioned into a defensive role with the 49ers.

After spending two seasons with the 49ers working as a defensive assistant and defensive passing game specialist, Sorensen was promoted and was named the team’s defensive coordinator last year

Sorensen struggled during his singular season as the 49ers’ defensive coordinator; the likely cause of these struggles was the numerous injuries the 49ers’ defensive players suffered.

Schottenheimer likely remembered Sorensen’s time as the Jaguars’ special teams coordinator and believed he would be a solid fit with Dallas this season.

Despite the belief that Sorensen was not the issue in San Francisco, there is little indication that he has made any meaningful impact in either of his significant roles with franchises.

Although the 49ers ranked near the top of the league in opponent yards per game at just 317.4, San Francisco allowed 25.6 points per game to opponents, which was tied for the fourth-highest mark of any team in the NFL.

Similarly, the Jaguars ranked 31st in special teams for Defense-adjusted Value Over Average during Sorensen’s lone season, which has become a widely used metric to determine the overall capability of teams and players, according to RJ Ochoa of SB Nation.

The good news is that Sorensen will now join a Cowboys team with a strong foundation in the special teams unit. The team features two players near the top of their positions: kicker Brandon Aubrey and returner Kavontae Turpin.

Aubrey made 85.1% of his field goal attempts during the season with an NFL-long of 65 yards, finishing the year with the second most points of any kicker in the league at 150.

The second-year kicker also managed to make all 30 of his extra-point attempts during the season.

Although Aubrey ranked just 23rd in the league for field goal percentage, the Cowboys often let him attempt long field goals due to his strong leg and impressive accuracy.

Meanwhile, Turpin put together an incredible third season in the league with one kickoff returned for a touchdown and one punt returned for a touchdown in 45 combined attempts.