GREEN BAY – Special teams coordinator Rich Bisaccia’s tenure in Green Bay is over.
The Packers announced Feb. 17 that Bisaccia was stepping down from his position after four seasons.
The announcement comes almost six weeks after the Packersbowed out of the playoffs with a loss to the Chicago Bears. The Packers worded their release to indicate that Bisaccia was not fired and that it was his choice to step down.
Coach Matt LaFleur has made several significant changes in his staff and appeared close to finalizing the group. It’s possible he gave Bisaccia time to consider whether he wanted to return for a fourth season at the age of 65.
“While we are disappointed to lose a person and coach as valuable as Rich, we respect his decision to step down from the Packers,” LaFleur said in the release. “Rich was a tremendous resource to me and our entire coaching staff who had a profound impact on our players and our culture throughout the building. We can’t thank him enough for his contributions to our team over the last four years.”
The release did not say whether Bisaccia intended on retiring. He addressed the possibility briefly during the season but gave no indication he had plans to call it quits after ’25.
General manager Brian Gutekunst said in his season-ending press conference that he had total confidence in Bisaccia despite many special teams issues over the past three seasons and gave no indication that a change might be coming.
“What Rich brings to our culture, this football team, he’s a very impactful coach around here,” Gutekunst said. “Certainly, I thought we’ve been better on teams the last few years than we’ve been in a long time. Our coverage units have been better. We’ve got one of the best punters in the National Football League, we have an excellent snapper. (Kicker) Brandon (McManus) was excellent last year.
“This year, again he worked through some things injury-wise and had a bad playoff game. That was kind of how that ended, but I’ve got a lot of faith in Rich and this staff in what they do around here. Not only the X’s and O’s and what they bring to the field, but what they bring to this place culturally is really important.”
LaFleur won’t have the option of hiring Bisaccia’s assistant, Byron Storer, who worked with him with the Las Vegas Raiders before coming to Green Bay. The Cleveland Browns hired Storer to be their special teams coordinator.
LaFleur could not block Storer from interviewing because the job offer was a promotion to a coordinator position.
Though LaFleur and Gutekunst said they had complete trust in Bisaccia, it was impossible to ignore some of the special teams shortcomings during the veteran coach’s tenure.
This past season was particularly rough. The Packers had potential game-deciding field goals blocked in consecutive weeks, losing to the Cleveland Browns in Week 3 after the left side of the line collapsed and allowed Shelby Harris to block McManus’ 45-yard field goal attempt with 27 seconds left in the game. The Browns recovered at their 47 and kicked a game-winning field goal with no time left.
A week later, the right side of the line broke down on an extra point and led to McManus’ extra point being blocked. It was returned for a defensive two-point play. The Packers wound up tying the Cowboys, 40-40.
The Packers ranked 11th in kickoff coverage and 21st in punt coverage. Their return units were a disappointment, ranking 24th in kickoff returns and 32nd in punt returns.
Penalties were also a problem again. The Packers ranked 10th in most special teams penalties last year, 11th in ’24 and 2nd in ’23.
Though McManus had been near perfect after being obtained in ’24, the veteran kicker had one of his worst seasons, in part because he thought he could kick through a thigh injury during the middle of the season. He made 24 of 30 field goals and missed two field goals and an extra point in the season-ending loss to the Bears.
A feather in Bisaccia’s cap was punter Daniel Whelan, who in his third season became the first Packers player to lead the league in gross average. Whelan became a defensive weapon for the Packers with his booming kicks.
It can be argued that Gutekunst didn’t give Bisaccia the return talent he needed to have successful return units, but he also allowed cornerback Keisean Nixon, an All-Pro returner, to beg out of kick returns after he fumbled in the playoff loss to Philadelphia.
Rookie Savion Williams looked to be a solid option but injuries sidelined him most of the season and a quality option was never found.
However, Bisaccia's units didn't rank high in Rick Gosselin's annual special teams rankings in the final two seasons Gosselin published them, ranking 29th in '24 and 22nd in '23.
LaFleur isn’t in a great position to replace Bisaccia because most of the best special teams coaches who were available have been hired. There were 10 head coaching openings and a number of veteran special teams coaches were scooped up early in the process.
Given the special teams issues the Packers have had throughout LaFleur’s tenure, this will be a critical hire for him.
(This story has been updated with new information).
This article originally appeared on Packers News: Rich Bisaccia steps down as Packers special teams coordinator