GREEN BAY, Wis. — The Green Bay Packers will have a new special teams coordinator this season after Rich Bisaccia, who was also Matt LaFleur’s assistant coach, announced Tuesday evening that he has resigned.
Bisaccia, 65, has been with the Packers since 2022. He was hired to fix a special teams unit that struggled last season with a field goal and a punt blocked for a loss. Bisaccia added the title of head coach in 2023. He came to the Packers after serving as the Raiders’ interim head coach through the 2021 season.
“After taking some time to reflect over the past few weeks, I have decided to resign as assistant coach and special teams coordinator for the Green Bay Packers,” Bisaccia said in a statement released by the team. “I’m incredibly grateful to Matt LaFleur, Brian Gutekunst, Ed Policy and Mark Murphy for their unwavering faith and support throughout my time in Green Bay. I also thank the players for their consistent work and relentless effort to improve each day. I’d like to thank everyone in the organization for their dedication and commitment. The people in this building make it a special place.”
Bisaccia became the second coordinator to leave the Packers this offseason after defensive coordinator Jeff Hafley was named Dolphins head coach. The Packers hired former Cardinals head coach Jonathan Gannon to replace Hafley.
The new coach will be the fourth to handle special teams under LaFleur, who is entering his eighth season. Earlier this offseason, the Packers lost Bisaccia’s top assistant, Byron Storer, who became the Browns’ special teams coordinator.
While Bisaccia coached some successful players — punter Daniel Whelan set a franchise record for punt return last season, and Keisean Nixon was a two-time All-Pro kick returner — some of the same mistakes that plagued the Packers never went away.
Bisaccia’s hand-picked kicker, Anders Carlson, had a rough rookie season, including a costly missed field goal in the 2023 playoff loss to the 49ers, and started a revolving door of kickers.
This past season, the Packers had a potential field goal blocked in a Week 3 loss to the Browns; had an extra point blocked and returned a two-point conversion in a Week 4 tie with the Cowboys; and blocked Romeo Doubs’ onside kick attempt that helped the Bears beat Green Bay in a Week 16 game.
Then, in a playoff loss to the Bears, kicker Brandon McManus missed two field goals and an extra point.
Bisaccia said last season he was considering resigning because he said, “I felt like I failed.” [LaFleur] sometimes in some of the things in the way we played.”
However, at the beginning of this season general manager Brian Gutekunst said he wanted to return to Bisaccia.
“What Rich brings to our culture, this football team, he’s the most influential coach here,” Gutekunst said earlier this month. “Of course, I thought we were better [special] groups in the last few years than we have been in a long time. Our cover units were better, we got one of the best operators in the National Football League, he got a great snapper. Brandon was great last year.
“Also this year he got things right again in terms of injuries and then he had a bad playoff game. … I have a lot of faith in Rich and his staff, what they do here, not just the X’s and O’s, what they bring to the field, but what they bring to this place is very important.”
LaFleur, in a statement, also indicated that he wants Bisaccia back.
“Although we are disappointed to lose such an important person and coach as Rich, we respect his decision to withdraw from the Packers,” said LaFleur. “Rich has been a great asset to me and our entire coaching staff who has had a tremendous impact on our players and our culture throughout the structure. We cannot thank him enough for his contributions to our team over the past four years. We wish Rich, his wife, Jeanne, and their entire family all the best moving forward.”
