Packers closing in on huge signing to address their special teams woes

The Green Bay Packers easily had the most unfortunate loss of any NFL team this postseason. They earned the only bye in the NFC and hosted the San Francisco 49ers in the Divisional Round.

The narrative heading into the matchup was that the Packers had the obvious advantage in the freezing Wisconsin weather. Yet no one prepared for the special teams blunders that followed.

They had a field goal blocked at the end of the first half that took three points off the board. Then came the gut punch when the 49ers blocked a punt and returned it for a touchdown late in the fourth quarter. San Francisco ended up winning 13-10 without the offense scoring a single touchdown.

Special teams should never be the focus of a game, especially in a negative way. The ultimate outcome here was Green Bay moving on from special teams coordinator Maurice Drayton.

Some fans may not put much importance on who is set in as the special teams coordinator. But the Packers have the chance to find a huge upgrade with their reported target to fill the role.

Former Las Vegas Raiders interim head coach Rich Bisaccia is reportedly in the mix for the job and would be a huge hire. He led the Raiders to a playoff berth in an interim role and has been an NFL special teams coordinator for two decades. He has also filled an assistant head coaching role on several teams during that span.

The latest rumor declares he is finalizing a deal to join the staff.

Packers still have one main question to answer

Landing Bisaccia will be a huge win for Green Bay. They just saw a Super Bowl season end because of mismanagement regarding blocking on special teams. Bisaccia has risen up the ranks managing special teams units and now has head coaching experience under his belt.

That means he shows up as a top assistant to head coach Matt LaFleur and could help in any facet of the game. But there is one question looming over the team that is bigger than anything else. That is what will happen with Aaron Rodgers.

Let’s say the Packers hire Bisaccia and have one of the strongest coaching staffs in the league. The luster of such a move will fade away if Rodgers retires or demands a trade elsewhere.

The Packers are only going to be Super Bowl contenders if Rodgers sticks around. That is why fixing the special teams unit, given he stays, is so imporant. It is a part of the game out of the quarterback’s control.

Green Bay improving the unit by hiring Bisaccia may also be another step to convince Rodgers to stay. His initial frustration with the team came to be when they drafted Jordan Love with a first-round pick in 2020. Rodgers went on to put up MVP numbers, changing the plans in Green Bay.

They now seem to be focusing on making him happy once again by repairing the one main thing broken with the team.

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