The other shoe has dropped in the NFC North, after the Chicago Bears and newly hired head coach Matt Eberflus were able to secure former San Francisco 49ers special teams coordinator Rich Hightower for the same role in the Windy City. One day later, the Green Bay Packers were reportedly adding their own -- per Ian Rapoport of NFL Network -- expected to sign former Raiders interim head coach Rich Bisaccia as special teams coordinator.
It's a whale of an addition for a Packers team that was summarily dismissed from this year's playoffs on the heels of not only seeing Aaron Rodgers struggle, but also its special teams unit dominated by that of the San Francisco 49ers. It led to the eventual dismissal of special teams coordinator Maurice Drayton and the interviewing of top-shelf candidates like Bisaccia, who also garnered interest as a head coaching candidate for the Jacksonville Jaguars and special teams coordinator for the Bears.
The Bears going with Hightower kicked the door open for Bisaccia to join their rival.
One of the most respected coaches in all of football, Bisaccia brings both a wealth of knowledge to the Packers as well as the ability to lead -- a players' coach who stepped in during the most controversial time in the history of the Las Vegas Raiders and turned them into a playoff team under the interim tag. But with the Raiders opting for bigger fish in signing former New England Patriots offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels as head coach, the writing was on the wall for Bisaccia, who takes his leave and heads to Lambeau.
Bisaccia, 61, began coaching special teams units in 1983 at Wayne State and has long since joined the ranks of the NFL, initially for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and then the San Diego/Los Angeles Chargers before taking up residence with the Dallas Cowboys for five seasons -- leaving following the 2017 season to reunite with Jon Gruden, a head coach he won Super Bowl XXXVII with in Tampa. Bisaccia's experience is invaluable, and the Packers should see an instant turnaround in their special teams unit because of it.
