One of the best ways to judge how good a coach is in today’s NFL is to look at their fourth-down aggressiveness. Teams are going for it on fourth down more than ever and it’s helped teams win games that usually wouldn’t.
But that hasn’t been the case for interim head coach Rich Bisaccia. In a recent study by ESPN, they ranked Bisaccia as the second-least aggressive head coach in the NFL when it comes to fourth down. The only coach that was worse in terms of not going for it when they should was Mike Tomlin of the Pittsburgh Steelers.
According to their data, no coach goes for it on fourth down less in obvious situations than Bisaccia. The Raiders have sacrificed a ton of points and win probability based on conservative fourth-down decisions, such as punts and short field goals.
What is frustrating is that when the Raiders have been aggressive on fourth down, it’s worked. He is an example of when Bisaccia has been aggressive and it worked, according to ESPN’s Paul Gutierrez:
Already leading the Eagles 24-7 midway through the third quarter in Bisaccia’s home debut — his second game since replacing Jon Gruden — the Raiders faced fourth-and-goal at the 1-yard line. Quarterback Derek Carr, out of the shotgun, fired a quick slant pass to WR Bryan Edwards coming left to right, and Edwards — bigger than a stereotypical slot receiver — hauled it in for the TD to put the game away.
It does make sense that Bisaccia doesn’t go for it a lot on fourth down as he is a special teams coach by trade. He believes in his kicker and his punter to do their jobs at a high level. To his credit, but Daniel Carlson and A.J. Cole have been among the best at their respective positions so far this season.
However, if the Raiders want to improve as a team, they do need to be more aggressive when the opportunity presents itself. Settling for short field goals and punts is a quick way to make sure this team doesn’t make the playoffs.
Despite just being the interim head coach, Bisaccia is auditioning for the full-time gig for the rest of the season. It would be nice to see him be a bit more aggressive and take some calculated risks on fourth down. Otherwise, the Raiders will be looking for a more analytical head coach this offseason.
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