Green Bay Packers Assistant Head Coach/Special Teams Coordinator Rich Bisaccia Steps Down
After four seasons of trying to fix a unit that has historically been the Green Bay Packers’ Achilles’ heel, Rich Bisaccia is stepping down. It is a move that feels both inevitable and slightly melancholic. When Bisaccia arrived back in 2022, he wasn’t just a hire; he was heralded as a savior. He was the grizzled veteran, the man who held the Las Vegas Raiders together with duct tape and charisma during their own storm. He was supposed to be the adult in the room who would finally stop the bleeding on special teams.
For a while, there was hope. But as we sit here in February 2026, looking back at the wreckage of the 2025 season, the experiment has officially come to an end. Where will Bisaccia land next?
A Season Of Special Teams Nightmares
The 2025 campaign was less of a football season and more of a weekly stress test for the cardiovascular health of Wisconsin residents. If you wanted to teach a masterclass on how specialized units can lose football games, the 2025 Packers provided plenty of game tape.
The unraveling wasn’t subtle. It started early, back in Week 3 against the Cleveland Browns. In a league where margins are razor-thin, having a go-ahead field goal blocked with 27 seconds left isn’t just a mistake; it’s a dagger. That 13-10 loss set a tone that the squad could never quite shake.
Just a week later, they tied the Dallas Cowboys largely because they allowed an extra point return. These are the kinds of errors that keep coaches up at night and send fans spiraling into sports talk radio rants.
By the time the season wrapped, the numbers painted a grim picture. Green Bay averaged a paltry 5.6 yards per punt return, the lowest mark in the entire NFL. Sports Illustrated ranked the unit 20th in the league, and honestly, that feels generous. The only thing keeping the grade from failing was Punter Daniel Whelan, who punted his leg off to lead the league with a 51.7-yard average. When your MVP is the punter, you know things have gone sideways.
The Heartbreak Against the Bears
If the regular season was a slow burn of frustration, the postseason was an explosion. There is losing, and then there is losing to the Chicago Bears in a way that haunts the franchise for a decade.
During that brutal five-game losing streak to end the season, Bisaccia’s unit seemed to find new, creative ways to implode. In Week 16, Romeo Doubs botched an onside kick recovery in an overtime loss to Chicago. But the Wild Card game? That was the backbreaker.
Squandering a 21-3 lead is bad enough on its own. But watching Brandon McManus, a veteran kicker, miss an extra point and two field goals in a playoff atmosphere is the stuff of nightmares. It was a complete systemic failure. For Bisaccia, a coach who prides himself on discipline and execution, watching that meltdown against a bitter rival had to be agonizing.
What’s Next For Matt LaFleur?
So, where do the Packers go from here? Matt LaFleur is suddenly staring at a very empty staff room. With Defensive Coordinator Jeff Hafley packing his bags to take the head coaching gig with the Miami Dolphins, LaFleur has to rebuild two of his three coordinator pillars in a single offseason.
The pressure is going to be immense. The window in the NFL is always closing, and Green Bay cannot afford another season where the “third phase” of the game costs them wins. Bisaccia’s replacement needs to be a home run. They don’t just need a coordinator; they need an exorcist to banish the ghosts of blocked kicks and botched returns that have haunted Lambeau for too long.
Bisaccia steps away with his reputation as a good man intact, but his chapter in Green Bay will ultimately be defined by a turbulent ending. For the Packers, the search for stability continues.
