The Dallas Cowboys hired Rayna Stewart to assist John Fassel and the special teams units heading into the 2022 season. Stewart comes to Dallas after three seasons in Green Bay in a similar capacity, first as the special teams quality control coach (2019-20) and then as the assistant special teams coach (2021).
Mason Crosby made 25-of-34 (73.5%) field goals in 2021 and converted 49-of-51 PATs, leading the team in scoring (124 points) for the 13th time in his career. Punter Corey Bojorquez averaged 46.5 yards-per-punt on 53 punts and had the longest punt in the NFL on the season - an 82-yard bomb that ranks as the second-longest punt in Packers history (Don Chandler, 90 yards in 1965). Green Bay finished 30th in kick return average (17.7) and 21st in punt return average (8.0) in 2021.
In 2020 Stewart worked with Crosby, who became the first Packer and just the sixth NFL player since 1932 to record a perfect field-goal percentage in a season (min. one FG attempt-per-game) by connecting on all 16 of his FG attempts. Crosby finished the season with an active streak of 18 converted FG attempts dating back to the 2019 season, the third-longest streak in franchise history.
In 2019 Stewart was part of a staff that saw Crosby connect on 22-of-24 field goal attempts (91.7 pct.), matching Jan Stenerud's single-season franchise-record percentage set in 1981 (22-of-24). Crosby ranked fifth in the league in field goal percentage in 2019, the highest ranking by a Green Bay kicker since Ryan Longwell in 2003 (fourth). JK Scott posted 29 punts inside the 20 on the year, which ranked ninth in the NFL and was the most by a Packer since Tim Masthay recorded 30 in 2012.
Stewart spent four seasons (2015-18) at Vanderbilt, first as director of player development (2015-17) and then as special teams quality control coach (2018). As director of player development, he served as a mentor for players and oversaw a number of programs that helped the student-athletes transition from high school to college, obtain summer internships, engage with the community and prepare for post-graduate life. In 2018 Stewart helped Parker Thome rank fourth in the SEC with an average of 44.9 yards-per-punt, tied for the fourth-highest punting average in school history.
Prior to joining the Commodores, Stewart worked for two years as a teacher and head football coach at Whites Creek, Tenn., High School. Stewart also served as a teacher and coach at Battle Ground Academy in nearby Franklin, Tenn., for two years before leading the Whites Creek staff.
From 2009-10, Stewart worked with the Tennessee Titans linebackers and defensive line as a defensive quality control coach. He helped defensive linemen Kyle Vanden Bosch and Jason Babin earn Pro Bowl honors in 2009 and 2010, respectively.
Before coaching for the Titans, Stewart worked as a graduate assistant at Northwestern University (2007-08), athletic director/head coach at Chicago, Ill., Hope Academy (2005-06), assistant coach at Centennial High School (2001-04) and training camp intern with the Indianapolis Colts (2004).
He played collegiately at Northern Arizona University, where he was a two-time All-American cornerback and set the school record for passes defensed in a season, posting 19 in both 1994 and 1995. He was selected in the fifth round (No. 143 overall) of the 1996 NFL Draft by the Houston Oilers and played in 71 career games as a defensive back for the Oilers (1996-97), Miami Dolphins (1998) and Jacksonville Jaguars (1999-2000). He finished his NFL career with 77 tackles, four fumble recoveries, two interceptions and a half sack.
A native of Chatsworth, Calif., Stewart earned a bachelor's degree in advertising from Northern Arizona and a master's degree in education administration from Tennessee State.
Stewart and his wife, Sonia, have four children: ShaRae, Tre, Mycah and Jadyn.
