Green Bay Packers Move On from ST Coach Maurice Drayton

It’s a move that many anticipated happening given how the Green Bay Packers special teams unit performed not only in the playoffs but over the course of the season. The team has reportedly moved on from special teams coordinator Maurice Drayton, according to Tom Silverstein.

After the Green Bay Packers special teams unit finished the 2019 and 2020 seasons ranked 26th and 29th in Rick Gosselin’s annual rankings, the team moved on from then special teams coordinator Shawn Mennenga and promoted Drayton, who was the assistant at the time.

Unfortunately, things did not get better under Drayton, in fact, they got worse. Special teams were an issue for the Packers since the early portions of the season, and ultimately they played a massive role in their early postseason departure.

Along the way, we saw missed field goals, poor blocking, bad snaps, and questionable holds. There were muffed punt returns, the kick return unit was one of the least effective in football, while the coverage units had their own issues—including allowing the only punt return of the NFL season. On top of all of that, there were penalties and shanked punts as well.

Special teams nearly cost Green Bay the game in Cincinnati, it played a big role in determining the outcome against Kansas City as well as the road game against Minnesota, not to mention that there were more special teams errors during the two week stretch against Chicago and Baltimore than what I imagine many teams will make in an entire season.

Then in the playoffs, where a team’s weaknesses are often magnified, the Green Bay Packers special teams unit surrendered 10 total points, three on a blocked field goal and seven on a blocked punt that resulted in a touchdown. They also gave up a 45-yard kick return to Deebo Samuel that led to three points for the San Francisco offense.

It’s going to take more than a new coordinator to turn the Green Bay Packers special teams around.

Ultimately, given how the season unfolded and how it ultimately ended, a move had to be made at coordinator. But with that said, it’s not as if the Packers had a thriving special teams unit prior to Drayton taking over—they’ve been bad for about a decade.

As SI’s Bill Huber would write recently, the Packers have finished outside of the top-20 in Gosselin’s rankings seven of the past nine years, including last three times.

For this unit to truly turn around, it’s going to take more than a new coordinator at the helm. While I’m not going to pretend like I know what Green Bay’s practice schedule is like, the old saying ‘you get what you emphasize’ tells me more time needs to be spent on special teams.

Matt LaFleur also needs to look into utilizing his starters more frequently on special teams, something he discussed following the playoff loss, along with relying more heavily on veterans in general, rather than young players, who can be mistake-prone.

It also wouldn’t hurt to open up the checkbook and spend quality money on a special teams coordinator. There isn’t a limit to what a team can pay and it doesn’t count against the salary cap either, so really it comes down to what Green Bay is willing to spend.

One popular name still available is Rick Bisaccia, who was the Las Vegas special teams coach before taking over as the head coach in an interim role this season. A few other potential candidates mentioned by Tom Silverstein of Packers News include Frank Ross, Thomas McGaughey, Ryan Fickman, and Danny Crossman.

LaFleur will now begin his search for the next Green Bay Packers coordinator, and his third in three seasons, but given the track record of this unit over the last 10 years, it’s going to take more than a new voice to turn this group around.