Rich Bisaccia has been a frequent name on head coaching lists for the last three years. After a good job as an interim with the Las Vegas Raiders in 2021, he was a strong candidate for the full-time gig. The Raiders went with Josh McDaniels, and owner Mark Davis reportedly regrets the decision of not giving Bisaccia a new chance.
Last year, Bisaccia interviewed for the Indianapolis Colts job. He advanced to the second round, but Shane Steichen was the final decision. Now, he is the Green Bay Packers assistant head coach and special teams coordinator under Matt LaFleur.
Who is Rich Bisaccia?
Bisaccia is a long-time NFL assistant coach. He has been in the league since 2002, and he won the Super Bowl with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in his first season.
He was the Bucs special teams coordinator from 2002 to 2010. In 2008, he added the titles of assistant head coach and running backs coach. He coached running backs for just one season, but kept the assistant head coach duties until 2010.
The coach spent two years with the San Diego Chargers — first only as a special teams coordinator in 2011, and then also as an assistant head coach in 2012.
Bisaccia was also the assistant head coach and special teams coordinator for the Dallas Cowboys between 2013 and 2017, and then with the Raiders from 2018 to 2021. He became the interim head coach when Jon Gruden got fired. He had a 7-5 record, leading the Raiders to the playoffs. They ended up losing to the Cincinnati Bengals in the wild card round.
What are Bisaccia's responsibilities in 2023?
Rich Bisaccia came to the Packers with the mission to rebuild a unit that had been awful for several years, under multiple coordinators. In 2021, Green Bay had been the worst special teams in the league, and a blocked punt cost them a playoff game against the San Francisco 49ers when they were clearly the better team.
Bisaccia became the highest-paid special teams coordinator in football and received permission to pick some players. For the most part, the unit got better in 2022, finishing 17th in DVOA.
After interviewing for the Colts job, Bisaccia was promoted in Green Bay to assistant head coach in addition to his special teams coordinator role. However, the unit's performance in 2023 got significantly worse again. The Packers finished the season as 31st in special teams DVOA.
Does Bisaccia have playcalling experience?
Yes, Rich Bisaccia calls plays for the Packers special teams and has called them for two decades, it doesn't matter where he has been. The area is not the most common resource for head coaching hires, but long-time Baltimore Ravens coach John Harbaugh and former New York Giants coach Joe Judge have that background.
Bill Belichick was a defensive coordinator right after being hired as a coach, but he had also worked with special teams throughout his career.
Calling card
Even though Bisaccia is a coordinator, his unit specifically is not why he's an attractive candidate for head coaching positions. Actually, it's his ability to lead men and manage the locker room.
"When he walks in a room, he demands respect. He's well liked as well," Packers head coach Matt LaFleur said. "That is an art."
That's an advantage of working with special teams. While offensive and defensive coordinators work with half the roster, the special teams coach has access to everyone. Raiders players, for example, loved him and wanted the franchise to keep him.
Can he be the face of a franchise?
This is an easier exercise to make, because Rich Bisaccia has already had that experience. It was a brief one, and it's impossible to know for sure if he would handle a long-term stint, but the evidence Bisaccia has generated is positive.
A big question mark, and one that could only be solved during an interview, is who the coaching staff would be. When a special teams coach is called to be the head coach, his coordinators are a critical part of the machinery.
More must-reads: