Tag: Rich Bisaccia

Packers sign former Raiders safety Dallin Leavitt

The Packers filled their 90-man roster by signing Dallin Leavitt, a former Raiders safety and special teams who played for Rich Bisaccia.

The Green Bay Packers filled their 90-man roster by signing former Las Vegas Raiders safety Dallin Leavitt on Monday.

Leavitt, an undrafted free agent out of Utah State, played in 42 games for the Raiders between 2018 and 2021. He produced 56 total tackles and two fumble recoveries, including 24 tackles on special teams. Last season, he led the Raiders in special teams tackles.

Leavitt, who turns 28 next month, was released by the Raiders on July 20.

Over 42 games with the Raiders, Leavitt (5-10, 195) played 369 snaps on defense and 839 snaps on special teams, including career-highs of 249 defensive snaps and 348 special teams snaps last season.

Leavitt’s experience playing for new Packers special teams coordinator Rich Bisaccia almost certainly influenced the signing. In Green Bay, Leavitt will get a legitimate chance to win a backup job at safety and play multiple roles for Bisaccia on special teams.

Leavitt will wear No. 6 with the Packers.

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Packers TE Tyler Davis catches eye of special teams coach Rich Bisaccia

Packers TE Tyler Davis played roughly 65 percent of the team’s special teams snaps a year ago, and new coordinator Rich Bisaccia was impressed with his work.

The Green Bay Packers think they found an ascending young player at tight end in Tyler Davis, who caught the eye of new special teams coordinator Rich Bisaccia and could become a core player for Bisaccia in 2022.

Last month, general manager Brian Gutekunst said he thinks the Packers “really have something” in Davis, who was signed off the Indianapolis Colts practice squad in late September of last year and went on to play in 14 games for the Packers in 2021.

“As his opportunities grew, not only in games but in practice, I think we might have something there. So I’m excited about that,” Gutekunst said when asked about the tight end group following the draft.

Matt LaFleur added more intrigue on Tuesday. The Packers coach said Bisaccia, a long-time coordinator of special teams in the NFL, was especially impressed with Davis when he took the job in Green Bay.

“He certainly made his mark on special teams,” LaFleur said. “I know he’s a guy that Rich was really excited about when we hired him, just what he can bring. He’s a guy that’s going to give you great effort each and every snap, and he can really run.”

At his pro day before the 2020 draft, Davis ran the 40-yard dash in 4.71 seconds at 252 pounds.

Last season provided a glimpse at what Davis can do on offense and special teams. He played 121 snaps on offense and caught four passes, including a 22-yarder from Aaron Rodgers against the Ravens in Baltimore. He mostly played on special teams, seeing 232 snaps for the third unit, or roughly 65 percent of the Packers’ total special teams snaps in 2021.

LaFleur said Davis kept improving and made the most of his opportunities during his first season in Green Bay.

“Tyler is a guy that I didn’t know a whole lot about when we acquired him. It was just something you could see each day when we were out there as he was learning the offense and getting his reps on the scout team. Then he got forced into play, and I thought he did a hell of a job,” LaFleur said.

Davis’ ability to play a dual role at tight end and participate on several special teams groups gives him a tremendous opportunitiy to make the 53-man roster, especially with Robert Tonyan still recovering from an ACL injury.

As is the case with all young players, Davis – a sixth-round pick of the Jaguars in 2020 – needs to keep improving.

“He’s a young player that needs to continue to learn and develop and show us what he can do.”

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Matt LaFleur: Hiring Rich Bisaccia was ‘big-time win’ for Packers

The Packers needed a win on special teams, so it’s no surprise that Matt LaFleur is excited about having Rich Bisaccia in Green Bay as the Packers special teams coordinator.

The Green Bay Packers desperately needed a win on special teams coming off a stunning playoff loss, and the chance to hire one of the NFL’s best coordinators provided the perfect opportunity.

Coach Matt LaFleur is rightfully excited about having Rich Bisaccia as the new coordinator for the Packers special teams in 2022.

“We’re just really fortunate to have a guy of that caliber,” LaFleur said Wednesday from the NFL Scouting Combine. “I think if you asked the coaches around the league, he’s regarded as one of the best in the business. Any time you can get a guy like that, that’s a big-time win for us. Ultimately, we all have to go out there and perform. But just in terms of the presence he brings, and the experience he brings, and the leadership he brings, it’s really going to benefit us.”

Bisaccia, who was the Raiders interim head coach for 12 games last season, brings 20 years of special teams coordinator experience to Green Bay. He’s been an assistant or associate head coach for 11 seasons.

LaFleur said Bisaccia has a “proven track record” and it’s his opinion that Bisaccia should still be a head coach in the NFL. In Green Bay, Bisaccia will get the chance to stabilize the third phase for a team with Super Bowl aspirations.

LaFleur thinks the staff and players will love having Bisaccia in the building.

“Just getting a chance to be around him and know him, it’s not a secret as to why guys love being around him and love playing for him,” LaFleur said. “I can tell he’s going to demand a lot from our guys, but he also cares so much about everyone he’s working with. We’re super excited to have a guy like that.”

Bisaccia is replacing Maurice Drayton, who lasted just one season as the coordinator. He was fired after the Packers finished last in the NFL in Rick Gosselin’s special teams rankings and then allowed a blocked field goal and blocked punt during the team’s divisional round playoff loss to the 49ers at Lambeau Field.

Could Bisaccia help the Packers finally get over the hump in 2022?

“His track record speaks for itself, and I think we’re all going to benefit from learning from him,” LaFleur said.

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Packers hire Byron Storer as Rich Bisaccia’s assistant special teams coach

The Packers hired Byron Storer as the team’s new special teams assistant under Rich Bisaccia. The two have worked together during six previous seasons, including the last four with the Raiders.

The Green Bay Packers have a new assistant special teams coach. The team announced the hiring of Bryon Storer, who has worked with special teams coordinator Rich Bisaccia for six different seasons as an assistant.

Storer, 37, actually played college football at Cal during the 2003 and 2004 seasons with Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers.

The former Tampa Bay Buccaneers fullback spent the last four seasons as Bisaccia’s assistant on special teams with the Raiders. He also worked with Bisaccia in San Diego with the Chargers (2012) and in Tampa Bay with the Buccaneers (2010).

Under Bisaccia and Storer, the Raiders finished 19th (2018), 25th (2019), 16th (2020) and 11th (2021) in Rick Gosselin’s special teams rankings over the last four years.

The Packers are hoping the coaching pair can help improve a group that finished dead last in Gosselin’s rankings last season.

It’s unclear what the future holds for Rayna Stewart, who remains on the staff (at least per the team’s site) after serving one season as Maurice Drayton’s assistant in 2021. He was a quality control assistant on special teams for the Packers in 2019 and 2020 under Shawn Mennenga.

Storer played in 15 games for the Buccaneers over the 2007 and 2008 seasons. He made 11 tackles while playing special teams.

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Packers need to find a legitimate returner this offseason

The Packers hired a top special teams coordinator. Now it’s time to prioritize finding a legitimate punt and kick returner for Rich Bisaccia.

The Green Bay Packers and new special teams coordinator Rich Bisaccia must make decisions on all three specialist positions – kicker, punter and long snapper – this offseason, but the team shouldn’t overlook the glaring (and perpetual) need at kick and punt returner.

In 2021, Maurice Drayton picked rookies Amari Rodgers and Kylin Hill as his two primary returners. Hill went down with a season-ending knee injury on a baffling kick return attempt in Arizona, while Rodgers struggled for much of the season returning both kicks and punts. Overall, the Packers averaged 17.7 yards per kickoff return (30th in NFL) and 8.0 yards per punt return (21st).

Rodgers was unexpectedly poor as a rookie given his collegiate experience. He lacked confidence catching the ball and didn’t look explosive or threatening with the ball in his hands. Hill had no prior experience and was learning the job on the fly.

To be fair, Drayton didn’t have much for options. Malik Taylor got a handful of opportunities as an injury replacement but wasn’t good enough. Randall Cobb fumbled his only punt return attempt. David Moore was signed in December and had a strong performance as a returner in Week 17 against the Vikings, but didn’t play again.

This isn’t a one-off problem, either. In 2020, the Packers created exactly 53 punt return yards and had exactly one kickoff return over 30 yards. Tyler Ervin flashed at times after saving the return group over the second half of the season in 2019, but he couldn’t stay healthy in 2020 and wasn’t on the team in 2021. Darrius Shepherd was a dud. Signing Tavon Austin late in the year didn’t provide a spark.

The problem returning is as much a personnel issue as a coaching issue, and it’s past time for the Packers to go out and find legitimate returners, especially after spending a bunch of money to get Bisaccia to Green Bay.

In Las Vegas, Bisaccia had Hunter Renfrow returning punts and Kenyan Drake and Jalen Richard returning kicks. The difference in talent and explosiveness between what the Packers and Raiders trotted out at returner is stark.

Will general manager Brian Gutekunst be willing to use a roster spot on a designated returner? Or will Bisaccia be comfortable using key players to return punts and kicks?

Maybe Hill and Rodgers will return as second-year players and show the growth necessary to handle the roles better in 2022. This might be the best-case scenario; both will likely be secondary players on offense, and they’ll boost their roster value by providing help on special teams.

Still, Gutekunst shouldn’t bank on this scenario. Adding legitimate competition at returner – and not just banking on existing players to slide into the role and handle returns – should be on the to-do list this offseason. Hiring Bisaccia was a start, but if the Packers truly want to get better on special teams, committing to the personnel side and finding better players in key spots – like at returner – has to follow.

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Raiders IHC Rich Bisaccia first ever to receive votes for Coach of the Year, Assistant of the Year

Unique season had Rich Bisaccia first ever to receive votes for Coach of the Year, Assistant of the Year

Last season was a unique one for the Raiders to say the least. It made for a very unique run for Rich Bisaccia as well. And Thursday night when the vote tallies for NFL honors came out, we saw the result of that.

That night it was revealed that Bisaccia received votes for Coach of the Year AND Assistant Coach of the Year.

Bisaccia’s two votes for Coach of the Year and three votes for Assistant Coach of the Year make him the first ever to get votes in both categories in the nine years since the Assistant Coach of the Year category was introduced.

How does this happen? Well, that’s a long story.

Bisaccia is one of the most respected special teams coordinators in the league. He joined the Raiders staff in 2020, starting his 17th season as a special teams coordinator at the NFL level and his 10th as assistant head coach.

Five games into his second season with the Raiders, Bisaccia’s title of assistant head coach would turn into interim head coach with the forced resignation of Jon Gruden.

It’s not uncommon for assistant head coaches to step up into an interim head coaching job during an NFL season. But nearly every one of those times, it’s because of the performance of the team, making for almost assuredly a lost season.

Gruden resigned over offensive emails he sent prior to returning to coaching in 2018. And the Raiders were sitting at 3-2, which meant unlike most instances in which an interim head coach steps in, Bisaccia was taking over a talented team with most of their season still ahead of them.

The Raiders won two-straight games when Bisaccia took over the job. Then finished the season on an improbable four-game win streak to make the playoffs. The final game of which was a win and you’re in, lose you go home game against a tough Chargers team which was in the same situation.

They did this after having to regroup following the tragic car accident in which the team’s number one receiver Henry Ruggs III was allegedly driving drunk and crashed his car, resulting in the death of a young woman and her dog.

Two voters thought guiding a team into the playoffs under such conditions and with the odds stacked against them was worthy of being named Coach of the Year.

All this was happening while Bisaccia’s kicking unit was far and away the best in the league. Punter AJ Cole was named an First Team All-Pro after a season in which he became the first punter not named Shane Lechler to averaged over 50 yards per punt. While Daniel Carlson was perfection late in the season and second only to Justin Tucker as the league’s top kicker.

In the end, the Raiders weren’t able to advance in the playoffs, losing to the Bengals who are playing in the Super Bowl this Sunday. And the Raiders opted to start fresh with their head coach and General Manager positions.

Bisaccia was hired by the Packers to coach their special teams. A team that was knocked from the playoffs in large part due to how bad they were on special teams. So, if Bisaccia can do anything close to what he did with the Raiders special teams unit, he may find himself getting some votes for Assistant coach of the Year next year as well.

Though you probably won’t see any coach getting votes for both Coach of the Year and Assistant Coach of the Year again anytime soon.

Raiders hiring ex-Broncos special teams coach Tom McMahon

The Broncos allowed the most returns for TDs in the NFL during Tom McMahon’s tenure in Denver.

When Jon Gruden stepped down during the 2021 season, the Las Vegas Raiders made special teams coordinator Rich Bisaccia their interim head coach. Bisaccia interviewed for the full-time head coach job this offseason, but the Raiders opted to hire Josh McDaniels instead.

After that, Bisaccia, arguably one of the NFL’s top special teams coaches, left Las Vegas to join the Green Bay Packers’ staff. That created a special teams coordinator opening for the Raiders.

In a move that will probably surprise many Denver Broncos fans, Las Vegas has picked Tom McMahon to replace Bisaccia as their new special teams boss.

McMahon had a four-year run with the Broncos from 2018-2021. Denver allowed six returns for touchdowns during that time, the highest total in the NFL. The Broncos had the worst kickoff coverage in the league last season, allowing an average of 39.4 yards per return.

McMahon will reunite with McDaniels, who was an offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach for the St. Louis (now Los Angeles) Rams in 2011, overlapping with McMahon’s tenure as the Ram’s special teams coach (2009-11).

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5 things new Packers special teams coordinator Rich Bisaccia must decide

A look at five big things new Packers special teams coordinator Rich Bisaccia must determine to start his first season on the job in Green Bay.

In many ways, Rich Bisaccia – who is expected to be the Green Bay Packers’ new special teams coordinator – is landing in a perfect spot. As long as Aaron Rodgers is back, the Packers will be a legit title contender in 2022, and the bar is set so low for special teams in Green Bay that even getting something resembling competency will be praised as a huge success next season.

But don’t confuse the quality of the job with the difficulty. Bisaccia must completely revamp the special teams culture in Green Bay while fixing the league’s worst group from a year ago.

First things first: Bisaccia has big decisions to help make on many of the foundational aspects of the special teams in 2022.

Here are a few decisions he must make early on in his tenure as the Packers special teams coordinator:

Former Clemson assistant expected to land new NFL job

A former Clemson assistant coach is reportedly expected to land a new coaching job in the NFL. The Green Bay Packers are planning to hire Rich Bisaccia as their new special teams coach, per NFL Network Insider Ian Rapoport. Bisaccia had been on the …

A former Clemson assistant coach is reportedly expected to land a new coaching job in the NFL.

The Green Bay Packers are planning to hire Rich Bisaccia as their new special teams coach, per NFL Network Insider Ian Rapoport.

Bisaccia had been on the Oakland/Las Vegas Raiders’ staff since 2018, serving as assistant head coach/special teams coordinator before being named Las Vegas’ interim head coach in October after Jon Gruden and the Raiders parted ways.

Bisaccia was Clemson’s running backs coach from the 1993 Peach Bowl through the 1998 season under Tommy West.

After Bisaccia took over the helm of a 3-2 Raiders team, they went 7-5 over the remainder of the regular season and won each of their last four regular season games to secure their first playoff berth since 2016.

The 61-year-old Bisaccia just completed his 20th season as an NFL assistant coach, primarily as a special teams coach. He began his NFL coaching career in 2002 with the Buccaneers under Gruden, and after staying in Tampa Bay until 2010, he has since coached with the San Diego Chargers (2011-2012) and Dallas Cowboys (2013-2017) before joining the Raiders’ staff in 2018.

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Packers expected to hire Rich Bisaccia to be new special teams coordinator

After another stunning playoff exit, the Packers are making a big move at special teams coordinator, hiring experienced coach Rich Bisaccia.

After another promising season died at the hands of the special teams, the Green Bay Packers are making a big move and paying up to get one of the NFL’s most respected and experienced leaders of special teams.

According to Ian Rapoport of NFL Network, the Packers are expected to hire former Raiders interim coach and special teams coordinator Rich Bisaccia to be Matt LaFleur’s new special teams coordinator.

Bisaccia, who has been a special teams coordinator at the NFL level since 2002, will replace Maurice Drayton, who was officially let go on Saturday.

The Packers finished 32nd in Rick Gosselin’s special teams rankings during the 2021 season. The nightmare season finished when the Packers special teams gave up a blocked field goal and blocked punt returned for the touchdown in a 13-10 loss to the 49ers in the divisional round.

Bisaccia has coached special teams for the Buccaneers, Chargers, Cowboys and Raiders. Last season, the Raiders finished 11th in Gosselin’s rankings, 21st in special teams DVOA and 22nd in Pro Football Focus special teams grade.

Bisaccia, 61, coached the final 12 games of the 2021 season for the Raiders after Jon Gruden resigned.

Hiring Bisaccia is expected to cost a significant amount of money given his experience and past as an assistant head coach.

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