The Indianapolis Colts held an extensive search looking for their new head coach, but the team has reportedly made a decision and will hire Philadelphia Eagles offensive coordinator Shane Steichen, according to ESPN’s Adam Schefter. This is very good news for the Green Bay Packers.
The Colts had interviewed many candidates during their search, including Packers’ special teams coordinator Rich Bisaccia, who was brought back for a second interview. Prior to joining Green Bay, Bisaccia took over as the Las Vegas interim head coach during the 2021 season and led the Raiders to the playoffs. He was also beloved by his players.
In their first year under Bisaccia, the Packers’ special teams unit was able to take a big step forward. After ranking last on several occasions over the last decade, Green Bay ranked 22nd this past year in Rich Gosselin’s annual special teams rankings, including a jump in several key areas, and by the end of the season, this group was playing at even a much higher level than that.
Although it’s not always easy to decipher a coach’s impact on special teams, with Bisaccia, there were fewer major miscues, especially as the season went on, and we saw the development of young players with Tariq Carpenter, Tyler Davis, and Isaiah McDuffie becoming core members of the special teams unit across multiple phases.
Two other important factors in the Packers’ turnaround were a greater emphasis on special teams in practice and throughout the building, something that Matt LaFleur acknowledged, along with players being held to higher standards. Special teams went from an afterthought in Green Bay to a point of emphasis under Bisaccia.
“I really like what we did as a teams unit this year,” Brian Gutekunst said. “A lot of respect for Rich and how he goes about things. I think the thing I liked the most was the play style of those guys. Not only the effort and intensity but then the pride they took in it. The cover teams were as good as they’ve been here in a long time.”
We also saw GM Brian Gutekunst take a new approach by signing special teams specific players. While this sounds simple, it’s not something the Packers had done previously, with offensive and defensive contributions taking priority. However, the likes of Dallin Leavitt, Eric Wilson, Keisean Nixon, and Rudy Ford were all crucial to the Packers’ success.
There are still certainly areas where this unit can improve, including the blocking up front, with Green Bay leading the NFL with four blocked kicks allowed. But with Bisaccia returning and entering his second season with the Packers, he will now have the opportunity to further leave his mark on this unit as the players become more comfortable with his scheme, coaching philosophy, and their responsibilities. Although not an apples-to-apples comparison, the Packers’ offense really took off in Year 2 under LaFleur.
