Rich Bisaccia Expected to Become Green Bay Packers New ST Coach
By Paul Bretl
Not long after we heard that the Green Bay Packers and former Las Vegas Raiders interim coach/special teams coordinator Rich Bisaccia were in talks, the two have reportedly come to an agreement.
According to Ian Rapoport, the Green Bay Packers are expected to hire Bisaccia as their new special teams coordinator.
The #Packers are expected to hire former #Raiders interim coach Rich Bisaccia as their new special teams coach, sources say. The unit was an issue in GB last year, and coach Matt LaFleur goes a long way toward fixing it. Bisaccia is universally respected.
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) February 7, 2022
As we are all well aware, the Packers special teams unit was abysmal last season—you name it, and it likely went wrong, and probably on multiple occasions as well.
In Rick Gosselin’s annual rankings, the group would finish the regular season ranked 32nd, and ultimately it was special teams play that had a massive role in Green Bay’s premature post-season exit. Matt LaFleur would then move on from Maurice Drayton not long after the season ended.
Unfortunately, this was far from the first season that Green Bay has struggled on special teams. In fact, it’s been rough going for a decade-plus. In Gosselin’s rankings, the Packers have finished 20th or worse seven times in the last nine seasons and last three times.
Bisaccia will be tasked with doing what many have failed at. Bisaccia has been coaching special teams in the NFL since 2002, having spent time with the Buccaneers, Chargers, Cowboys, and Raiders. That alone will hopefully help provide some much-needed stability.
In terms of rankings, Bisaccia’s recent units haven’t been great by any means but certainly better than the Packers. In Gosselin’s annual rankings, the Raiders finished the 2021 season ranked 11th. In 2020 they were 16th, then 19th in 2019, and 19th in 2018.
During his final two years with Dallas, Bisaccia’s special teams units finished fifth in 2017 and 11th in 2016. It’s also important to note that Bisaccia was a favorite among his players in Las Vegas.
While we, of course, want a top-10 special teams unit, that’s also not a requirement either. The Green Bay Packers need stability and to cut down on those momentum-shifting and game-changing errors. If Bisaccia fields a group that finishes the year ranked 20th, that’s honestly good enough.
Hiring Bisaccia was a good first step in turning this unit around, but step two is providing him the support he needs. This can include having more experienced players on special teams, perhaps even some starters taking snaps, and an added overall emphasis on the third unit in practice each day as well as over the summer during training camp.
In an offseason where the Green Bay Packers have seen a lot of turnover on their coaching staff, the quarterbacks coach is the only opening that remains.