After Four Years of Poor Results, Packers Must Replace Rich Bisaccia

GREEN BAY, Wis. – Rich Bisaccia, the venerable special teams coordinator for the Green Bay Packers the past four seasons, has decided to “step down” from the position, he said in an announcement made by the team on Tuesday night.

“After taking some time to reflect over the last few weeks, I have made the decision to step down as the assistant head coach and special teams coordinator of the Green Bay Packers,” Bisaccia said in the announcement.

“I am incredibly grateful to Matt LaFleur, Brian Gutekunst, Ed Policy and Mark Murphy for their unwavering trust and support throughout my time in Green Bay. I am also thankful to the players for their consistent work and relentless effort to improve every single day. I would like to thank everyone in the organization for their dedication and commitment. The people in this building make it a special place to work.”

Bisaccia inherited a Dumpster fire that culminated in the disastrous 2021 divisional playoff loss at home to the 49ers. Green Bay’s special teams, a glaring weakness for the top-seeded team, allowed a blocked punt in the closing moments of the game that was recovered for a game-tying touchdown. There were only 10 players on the field for the season-ending field goal.

The Packers hoped Bisaccia, who brought with him a strong track record, could turn special teams from a weakness into a strength. It never happened, though.

Below-Average Results In Special Teams Rankings

In the 2025 Packers On SI NFL special teams rankings, Green Bay finished 20th. That came on the heels of finishing 22nd in 2024, 27th in 2023 and 17th in 2022. That means Green Bay never fielded even a slightly above-average unit under Bisaccia.

Final 2025 NFL Special Teams Rankings | Bill Huber/Packers On SI

“Coaching for the Green Bay Packers was truly an honor, and I will always be grateful for my time here,” Bisaccia said. “I look forward to whatever is next for me and my family, and I wish nothing but the best for everyone in the organization.”

Having gotten his coaching staff in order following the hiring of Jonathan Gannon as defensive coordinator, LaFleur will now be on the lookout for a new special teams coordinator. Bisaccia’s top assistant, Byron Storer, is the new coordinator for the Browns.

“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. “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. We wish Rich, his wife, Jeanne, and the rest of their family all the best moving forward.”

Two Sides of the Bisaccia Story

While Bisaccia never fixed Green Bay’s special teams despite significant investment from general manager Brian Gutekunst, he was a trusted lieutenant for LaFleur and was beloved in the locker room.

After the season, when asked what made Bisaccia the right man for the job, Keisean Nixon said: “Rich is just Rich. I don’t even know how to answer that because I’ve been with Rich my whole career, so I don’t even know what a season would be like without him. I think Rich is a perfect guy for any job, not just here. We’ll see.”

Nixon and running back Josh Jacobs signed with the Packers in free agency due in part to their relationships with Bisaccia from their time together with the Raiders.

Nixon was an All-Pro kick returner for two seasons before relinquishing those duties this season. Gutekunst in 2025 didn’t give Bisaccia a returner, and that was a major problem throughout the season, but he did give the battery of kicker Brandon McManus, punter Daniel Whelan and long snapper Matt Orzech new contracts, he found a place for Bo Melton on the roster and signed linebacker Nick Niemann.

The 65-year-old thought about stepping down at the end of last season.

“I had tremendous conversations with Coach LaFleur and the direction we’re going,” Bisaccia said in May, “and felt like I’ve failed him at times and some of the things and the ways in which we’ve played. I have a certain standard and expectation of how we’re supposed to play in the kicking game, and I’m really excited about being here and being back with him and having the opportunity to win a championship.”

Started Poorly, Ended Poorly

The Packers did some good things on special teams this season. Daniel Whelan finished fourth in net punting average, consistently flipping field position, and the kickoff coverage was strong.

However, in Week 3 at Cleveland, Brandon McManus’ potential game-winning field goal was blocked, with the Browns turning it into a game-winning field goal of their own. In Week 4 at Dallas, an extra point that was blocked and returned for two points was the game-turning play in a 40-40 tie. McManus, who fixed the kicking problem in 2024, performed poorly for a stretch of games due to injury.

Finally, order was restored. While Green Bay’s return game remained irrelevant, McManus got himself into a groove, the coverage units remained effective and the returners took care of the ball.

However, in Week 16 at Chicago, Romeo Doubs muffed an onside kick that allowed the Bears to steal a victory.

“It seems we want to dwell on the negative at times around here,” Bisaccia said before Week 18 at Minnesota. “I’d like to think that those guys can look at the tape and feel really good about a lot of the things that they have done. … I’m really excited about a lot of the things that we have done, and I feel we’ve cleaned up some of our problems a little bit better than we did earlier in the year.”

Instead, in the rematch at Chicago in the playoffs, disaster struck. McManus missed three kicks and the punt coverage was terrible as Chicago overcame a 15-point fourth-quarter deficit to steal another win.

That, as it turns out was the final game for Bisaccia, ending an era that never got close to living up to expectations.

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