Matt LaFleur is doing more than coaching the NFC at the Pro Bowl in Las Vegas. According to a report from Tom Silverstein of the Journal Sentinel, he’s also talking with former Raiders interim head coach Rich Bisaccia about replacing Maurice Drayton as Green Bay’s third special teams coordinator in four seasons. The 61-year-old Bisaccia spent the past two decades in that role before replacing Jon Gruden in early October and leading the Raiders to the playoffs.
It’s hardly a surprise LaFleur is looking to hire an experienced special teams coordinator after first-timers Shawn Mennenga and Drayton failed miserably the past three seasons. The Packers finished 26th, 29th, and 32nd in Rick Gosselin’s yearly rankings, and coming in dead last doesn’t begin to scratch the surface of just how terrible special teams were in 2021. Under Drayton, who was inexplicably promoted when Mennenga was fired, the Packers struggled to execute even the simplest tasks. At one point in October, converting a field goal of any length was no better than a 50/50 proposition. And in the upset loss to the 49ers, getting the correct number of players on the field proved to be a tall order.
Once the Raiders hired Josh McDaniels, and the Jaguars settled on Doug Pederson to be their respective head coaches, Bisaccia immediately became the most sought-after special teams coordinator on the open market. Multiple teams are interested, but according to Silverstein, the Packers might hold an edge thanks to defensive coordinator Joe Barry, who worked with Biasucci in Tampa Bay for six seasons (2002-2006 and 2009). The two have remained close through the years.
As always, money will also play a part in where Biasucci coaches next season, and for the first time since president and CEO Mark Murphy took control of the team in 2007, the Packers appear willing to ante up for a quality special teams coordinator. As most fans know all too well, Murphy’s penny-pinching three years ago caused highly-respected Darren Rizzi to turn down LaFleur and sign instead with the Saints, where his units have been among the very best in the league.
So what would Green Bay be getting in Biasucci? Well, in his last nine seasons as a special teams coordinator with the Cowboys (2013-2017) and Raiders (2018-2021), his units have been ranked 4th, 13th, 4th, 11th, 5th, 19th, 25th, 16th, and 11th. And while he hasn’t done quite as well in recent years, something tells me the Packers would be just fine with those results.
Not only would Biasucci bring competence to special teams for the first time this century, but he’d be a great addition to the entire organization. Dozens of Raiders players have lavished praise on Biasucci in the past few weeks. It was an outpouring of affection that’s seldom seen in the NFL. Here’s just one example from corner Nate Hobbs’ Instagram account:
“Dear coach… Honestly I don’t [know] where to begin. So I’ll start by saying I love you. Since I was 12 I didn’t really have a father figure in my life till later, after a while he passed away too. In 2021 coach gruden stepped down and you became my head coach. That year I met another man in my life that believed in me and loved me like a brother. A feeling I hadn’t felt in so long. You were the only person I would allow to curse me out severely then tell me that you love me 2 hours later lol. One thing [I] admired about you so much is that when things gotta hectic, the more you appeared to remain even more poised. 2 things you taught me in this lifetime I’ll carry for the rest of my lifetime. “Nobody give a f*ck”, and “Put a lil love in our heart and a smile on ya face”. Coach you had my back and believed in me when thousands didn’t. And for that I LOVE YOU!”
If the Packers are going to hire Biasucci, expect it to happen sometime this week. Should he choose to go elsewhere, there wouldn’t be many great options left for LaFleur since most of the top special teams coordinators are staying put. That includes Thomas McCaughey (Giants), Danny Crossman (Dolphins), Frank Ross (Texans), and more than likely Rizzi. Former Giants head coach Joe Judge, who cut his teeth on special teams with New England, would likely move to the top of LaFleur’s wish list, although he’s close to McDaniels and could very likely wind up replacing Biasucci in Las Vegas.
Thanks to all of you who’ve donated to Packers Notes. We’re well on our way to being financially stable for the rest of the year, but we’re not there yet. If you haven’t already contributed, there’s still time. We’ll be accepting donations through the Super Bowl on February 13. Just click the link below.
Rich Biasuccia isn’t going from the head coach of the Las Vegas Raiders to the special teams coach of the Green Bay Packers. He’ll get more attractive offers in higher profile cities elsewhere. Unless he has ties to Wisconsin that I’m unaware of. Mike McCarthy had the same problem. When quality coaches had an option, they never chose the Packers. We were very fortunate to land Matt LaFleur. We did so for two reasons, no one else offered him a job and he was from nearby Michigan. Even local boy Leonhard turned down the DC position. You can talk money all you want. But that’s not the reason. Special teams did not cost us that playoff game. Aaron Rodgers did. He had plenty of opportunities to win that game at the end and he did not. Why is it that Matthew Stafford can suddenly be traded to a good team, beat the 49ers, and go to the SB, yet Aaron Rodgers cannot? And Rodgers has been on just as good a team as the Rams for over a decade. Until the Rodgers situation is addressed, everything else is noise.
Besides Leonhard, who are all these quality coaches who turned down the Packers?
Well, it appears Rich Bisaccia IS going from head coach of the Las Vegas Raiders to the special teams coach of the Green Bay Packers.
Better late than never, I guess. The Packers would probably be playing football in six days had LaFleur hired anybody other than Drayton.