Coach Who Led NFL’s No. 1-Ranked Special Teams Emerges as Packers Candidate

GREEN BAY, Wis. – Cameron Achord, who once led the NFL’s best special teams, is among the candidates to replace Rich Bisaccia as Green Bay Packers special teams coordinator, a source told Packers On SI.

In 2020, then-New England Patriots coach Bill Belichick promoted Achord to special teams coordinator after the former coordinator, Joe Judge, became head coach of the New York Giants. During his first season, Achord’s units ranked No. 1 in Rick Gosselin’s annual special teams ranking and No. 4 in Packers On SI’s rankings.

Achord led New England’s special teams from 2020 through 2023. In Gosselin’s rankings, the Patriots fell to 18th in 2021, 16th in 2022 and 13th in 2023. He was not retained when the Patriots hired Jerod Mayo to replace Belichick in 2024.

Achord spent the last two seasons as the Giants’ assistant coordinator. In the Packers On SI rankings, the Giants were 20th in 2024 and ninth in 2025.

Packers coach Matt LaFleur, no doubt knowing this was a possibility after Bisaccia considered stepping down after the 2024 season, already has a list of interviews lined up.

Big-Time Endorsement

When the Patriots promoted Achord, he got an overwhelming endorsement from longtime Patriots special teams star Matthew Slater.

“Assuming that’s the direction Bill (Belichick) wants to go, I’m really confident in Cam,” Slater told The Athletic at the time. “He is a bright young coach who really relates well to the players but has the players’ respect.

"I think he did a great job this year. He had some added responsibility. I think he did a great job of handling it. Conceptually, he understands how the team wants to play. He understands the skill sets the players have and putting them in position to have success. He did a good job of learning from Joe and Bill. I think he is equipped to do the job if his number gets called.”

Achord got his start in coaching as a graduate assistant at Southern Miss in 2010. In 2013, he became special teams coordinator and coached the quarterbacks, running backs and tight ends at Southwest Mississippi Community College. In 2017, he added offensive coordinator to that long list of duties.

In 2018, Belichick hired him as assistant special teams coach, a title he held for two years before his promotion to coordinator.

Up-And-Down Results

In 2020, the Patriots led the NFL in punt-return average and net punting and were 11th in kickoff-return average. In 2021, they were sixth in punt-return average but gave up three blocked punts. In 2022, they were sixth in punt-return average again but plunged to 27th in kickoff coverage; in a late-season loss to Buffalo, the Patriots gave up two kickoff-return touchdowns. In 2023, the kickoff coverage improved to sixth and their kickoff return vaulted from 12th to third.

After the 2021 season, when there was a significant downturn in play that led to the plunge in Gosselin’s rankings, Slater stood up for Achord.

“This is not on Coach at all,” he said on the Mut at Night radio show. “I think this is on us as players. It’s not like we’re going out there and getting outschemed or being put in a bad position. He prepares us. We know what to expect. And it’s really about us executing better. This is not coaching at all. I think Cam and Joe [Houston] do a great job of having us ready, having us prepared. We feel confident going into every contest, but they can’t go out there and play. They can’t coach and play. The players have to do their job and let the coaches do theirs.”

After the 2022 season, Belichick also went to bat for his coordinator.

“Good coach. Led the league in special teams in ‘20. I don’t think that’s the problem,” Belichick said.

Energy will not be a problem.

Patriots special teams coordinator Cam Achord says he usually drinks six or seven coffees followed by three Pepsis per day.
— Doug Kyed (@DougKyed) December 15, 2020

By DVOA, the Patriots were 11th in 2019, the season before Achord was promoted. They were No. 1 in 2020, 18th in 2021, 32nd in 2022 and 28th in 2023.

With Achord as an assistant, the Giants’ DVOA the last two seasons was 22nd in 2024 and 23rd in 2025. New Giants coach John Harbaugh brought in his own staff to coach special teams.

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