Rich Bisaccia has unexpectedly stepped down as special teams coordinator and assistant head coach of the Green Bay Packers. The reasons weren’t immediately clear.
"While we are disappointed to lose a person and coach as valuable as Rich, we respect his decision to step down from the Packers," Packers Head Coach Matt LaFleur said, via Packers.com, in making the announcement.
By most accounts, Bisaccia was beloved by players and staff alike. Bisaccia, who was the highest-paid special teams coordinator in the NFL, came to Green Bay from the Las Vegas Raiders in 2022 with high hopes of turning around an underperforming Packers special teams unit. It didn’t exactly work out.
In his four seasons in Green Bay, Bisaccia’s squads ranked an average of 21st in the league. In his first season, Packers special teams ranked 17th in the NFL, but in 2023 Bisaccia’s so-called “We-Fense” slipped to 31st. In 2024, the team saw a rebound to 15th, but this past season there was a regression to 21st.
As a result, much of the fan base had been calling for Bisaccia to be replaced. However, LaFleur and General Manager Brian Gutekunst didn’t budge. Perhaps that was a testimony to how they valued Bisaccia’s experience and presence with the team.
"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,” LaFleur said. “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."
Indeed, there were bright spots to the Packers’ special teams. In 2025, punter Daniel Whelan led the league in average punt distance (51.7); he also ranked fourth in net average (43.9) – both are franchise single-season records. This punting prowess helped Green Bay to be among the top coverage teams in the NFL. But following two strong seasons from kickoff returner Keisean Nixon in 2022 and 2023, the special teams units couldn’t generate consistent return games while shuffling through a number of players who gave the job a shot.
In addition, Bisaccia’s units were unfortunately known for gaffes at inopportune times, with the prime example being Romeo Doubs’ mishandling of an onside kick in the playoffs against the Chicago Bears, which helped lead to yet another early postseason exit.
We may never fully know what prompted Bisaccia to resign from his post, but he did offer this statement on Packers.com:
"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. 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.”