After making noise with Thursday’s hiring of Brian Schottenheimer, the Dallas Cowboys were in the news once again after ESPN Cowboys Reporter Todd Archer reported they’re adding Rayna Stewart, former Green Bay Packers assistant special teams coach to their coaching staff.
With the hiring, Stewart fills the last vacancy spot on the staff and will replace Matt Daniel, last year’s assistant special teams coach, who left to the Minnesota Vikings to become their Special Teams Coordinator.
Stewart, a former safety in the NFL who played from 1996-2000 for the Houston Oilers, Miami Dolphins, and Jacksonville Jaguars, began his coaching career as a graduate assistant for Northwestern serving from 2007-2008.
He snagged his first NFL gig as a defensive quality control coach for the Tennessee Titans and worked with them from 2009-to-2010.
After a five-year coaching break, Stewart returned to collegiate ranks in 2015 to work for Vanderbilt as the Director of Player Development for two years, and later as the special teams quality control coach in 2018.
Stewart made his return to the NFL in 2019, serving in the same coaching role he had at Vanderbilt for the Packers, and then got promoted to his current position in 2021.
Once the hiring was announced, some fans questioned why the Cowboys made the move considering Stewart is coming from a Packers special teams group who was ranked last in the league, but there may be something the franchise liked about him.
However, his addition won’t necessarily hurt the team as long as they have Special Teams Coordinator John Fassel at the helm, but it allows for a new voice to come in.
Also, given Stewart brings in the background as a safety, he could be able to relate to the players more given he played in the league, and could be a weapon for the kickoff and punt return teams.
