Who is Nick Sorensen? Everything you must know about Cowboys' new ST coordinator

Who is Nick Sorensen?
San Francisco 49ers Mandatory Minicamp
San Francisco 49ers Mandatory Minicamp | Thearon W. Henderson/GettyImages

The Dallas Cowboys announced Brian Schottenheimer as their new head coach on Friday and they have wasted no time filling out his coaching staff.

After hiring Matt Eberflus to succeed Mike Zimmer in the defensive coordinator role, the Cowboys have appointed Nick Sorensen to replace John "Bones Fassel" as the team's special teams coordinator.

RELATED: Who is Matt Eberflus? Everything you must know about the new Cowboys DC

The Cowboys reportedly tried to retain Fassel, who is among the premier special teams coordinators in the NFL, but they didn't have a head coach at the time so Fassel took the same position with the Titans.

Fassel is the reason Dallas even has Brandon Aubrey and KaVontae Turpin, both of whom were recruited from the USFL and have developed into two of the best players at their respective positions.

Simply put, Sorensen is taking over one of the most talented special teams units in football.

Who is Cowboys' new special teams coordinator Nick Sorensen?

Sorensen is actually a former 10-year veteran in the league. An undrafted free agent safety who starred at Virginia Tech, Sorensen played two years with the then-St. Louis Rams, four years with the Jaguars and four years with the Browns.

Despite playing 131 games in his career, Sorensen actually never started a game. He accumulated 131 tackles, three tackles for loss, two passes defended and two forced fumbles.

Sorensen jumped right into coaching after his playing career ended in 2010. After one year as the defensive quality control coach at Youngstown State, Sorensen was hired by the Seahawks as their assistant special teams coach. He added assistant defensive backs coach to his responsibilities in 2016 before becoming the full-time DBs coach in 2016.

The 46-year-old spent eight years in Seattle, which is where he and Schottenheimer overlapped. Schottenheimer was brought in as the Seahawks' offensive coordinator in 2018.

They also coached together with the Jaguars in 2021, when Sorensen served as special teams coordinator while Schottenheimer coordinated the passing offense. Jacksonville ranked 31st in special teams DVOA that year, so here's hoping he learned from that experience.

Sorensen's most recent coaching stint was with the 49ers. He started as a defensive assistant before making the jump to defensive coordinator in 2024 replacing the fired Steve Wilks. Ravaged by injuries, San Francisco ranked eighth in yards, 29th in points and 20th in takeaways under Sorensen's watch.

While Sorensen's only year as a ST coordinator didn't go as planned, he played 10 years in the league because he was a great special teamer. The 49ers hoped to keep him on Kyle Shanahan's staff, so Schottenheimer essentially stole him from Dallas' rival.

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