No special teams coordinator should be causing their team to lose games. And yet, Rich Bisaccia has been the bane of the Green Bay Packers' existence this season, perhaps kicking the game away in a 10-7 loss to the Philadelphia Eagles on Monday Night Football.
As usual, kicker-related issues plague the Packers beneath the MNF spotlight. Instead of deploying Lucas Havrisik, the record-holder for longest field goal in franchise history (61 yards), Bisaccia threw out Brandon McManus, who missed a 64-yarder to end the game.
Now, the Packers sit behind the Detroit Lions and Chicago Bears in the NFC North standings, looking directly down at the Minnesota Vikings and Carolina Panthers in the Wild Card race. This was not where the season was supposed to go after all of the offseason spending.
Bisaccia has a small margin of error. Nailing the kicking game is paramount to avoid being a story. That he has a seemingly easy job, not screwing things up for a Packers team with an elite offense and defense, and still can't get it right proves there's a foundational issue in Green Bay that needs correcting.
And it's not the first time this has happened either. The 2023 season ended because of an upset loss to the San Francisco 49ers, where Anders Carlson missed a 41-yard field goal. McManus had a miss during the team's most recent loss against the Eagles in the postseason.
It doesn't help that Bisaccia continues to ignore Lucas Havrisik, who's looked better than McManus on special teams all year:
Kicker | FGs Made | FGs Attempted | FG% | XPs Made | XPs Attempted | XP% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Brandon McManus | 11 | 17 | 64.7% | 16 | 17 | 94.1% |
Lucas Havrisik | 4 | 4 | 100% | 6 | 6 | 100% |
Havrisik's performance comes with a smaller sample size, which makes Bisaccia's ineptitude even more embarrassing. He should be capitalizing on the 26-year-old kicker's strong play, not pushing him to the side just to watch a clear-not-100% McManus come up short.
Rich Bisaccia Is a Microcosm of Packers Accepting Mediocrity
How long does this go on? Bisaccia was extended in January 2025, and the team is already regretting it. Are they going to keep punishing themselves with his sunken cost?
Bisaccia, like head coach Matt LaFleur and general manager Brian Gutekunst, has been financially rewarded for mediocrity. This regime continues to invest in good, but not good enough. It's been a strategy that's kept them relevant for years, but unable to get over the top since Barack Obama's first term as President of the United States. Something will eventually have to change.
There's a chance the whole lot is scrapped if Green Bay continues sinking in the standings. Underperformance is one thing, but going all in financially and falling flatter than before is unforgivable. Failing to enforce any consequences would show that ownership is fine with mediocrity, whether it's coming from the head coach or a coordinator like Bisaccia.
LaFleur and Gutekunst's contracts are up after the 2026 campaign, so it might not be long before a change is made. Even if the duo is given another chance, the Packers can't enter next season with Bisaccia running special teams, especially if they don't want a slew of never-ending headaches again.