Dallas Cowboys special teams coach John Fassel is going to get Coach Mike McCarthy fired one day.
It had to be said.
McCarthy needs to rein him in now or take his chances with what appears to be the inevitable.
Why?
Because while special teams can often be about production, it's also a lot about protection.
Don't give up a big return. Don't miss an easy kick. Don't fumble. Don't commit a penalty that sets your team back.
What it can't be is a detriment.
There is no other legitimate way to describe it when you listen to Fassel's explanation for his bad decision to try to block a punt late in the first of half of Sunday's 20-17 victory against the Los Angeles Chargers.
The Cowboys were called for roughing the punter, which gave the Chargers an automatic first down and 15 yards. The Cowboys were bailed out eight plays later when Los Angeles missed a 44-yard field goal. But it could have resulted a game-tying field goal, which very well might have changed the complexion of the game.
What it also did was take a possession away from the Cowboys' offense that could have added to their 14-11 lead in the final minute of the half.
Yet, Fassel has no regrets and blamed Cowboys fans for his unnecessary aggression.
"The thought process was I think Cowboys fans aren't the play-it-safe type," Fassel said. "So I was going to give them what they wanted, come after [them] on the punt rush. So I hope they're happy with it. We came after him. Kind of the mindset going into the game, we're going to come after this football team."
Well, no, Cowboys fans were not happy with his decision, including the biggest superfan of them all, Cowboys owner Jerry Jones.
Jones, who made his money taking risks in the oil and gas business, prefers his special teams to be a little more prudent.
"I'm a little more conservative," Jones said on his radio show on 105.3 The Fan. "I do believe the bad plays in the kicking game are the equivalent to turnovers. I really like to choose my spots on taking those kind of risks."
That was not the spot to take the risk.
No one wants you to take a punt return opportunity away from dynamic receiver CeeDee Lamb. No one wants you to prevent quarterback Dak Prescott from having an opportunity to work his magic in the team's two-minute drill.
What's worse is that Fassel said it was his decision alone, with no input from McCarthy.
"I think the only way to block the punt is to rush the punt," he said. "I think he was OK with us following the game plan and coming after him. He was probably upset that we roughed them, or that they called roughing."
Ya think?
It would be different if this decision was a one-off. But this is becoming a pattern -- and not a pretty one.
Fassel was brought in before last season after after eight years with the Los Angeles Rams. The idea was that he would help improve the Cowboys' special teams.
But the truth is that the Rams ranked 26th in special teams in 2019 on FootballOutsiders.com's unit rankings, just slightly above the Cowboys, who ranked 30th.
Remember the Rams' 2019 season finale? Fassel called a failed fake-punt play that set up an Arizona Cardinals touchdown. A TV camera caught Rams Coach Sean McVay shouting, "What are you doing?!" at Fassel.
Exactly the thoughts of many Cowboys fans on Sunday. Exactly the thoughts of Cowboys fans last season a following a number of failed fake punts in awful situations.
The worst was on Thanksgiving against the Washington Football Team. Trailing 20-16 in the fourth quarter, the Cowboys called a fake punt from their own 24-yard line.
Dallas gave the ball to wide receiver Cedrick Wilson Jr. on a reverse and he was tackled after a 1-yard gain. Washington went on to score 21 consecutive points in what became a 41-16 blowout.
McCarthy was in on that reckless decision, but it's Fassel who comes up with these gadget plays.
Now, to his credit, sometimes they work, like the watermelon onside kick that helped lift the team to victory against the Atlanta Falcons last year. But that was a desperate situation and it called for desperate measures.
What happened on Sunday was an unnecessary risk and it nearly cost the Cowboys the game.
The Cowboys can smile about it now, as McCarthy did with a sign of relief while running off the field at halftime and after the game against the Chargers, one that was won by the special teams, thanks to a 56-yard field goal from Greg Zuerlein.
But if he doesn't get Fassel under control and rein him in, those recklessly-competitive decisions could cost him and the team big.