Packers fire special teams coordinator Maurice Drayton after gaffes lead to playoff loss vs. 49ers, per report

The Packers had the worst special teams unit in the league during the 2021 NFL season. They took a step to address those issues on Tuesday.

According to Tom Silverstein of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, Green Bay’s special teams coordinator Maurice Drayton will not return to the team in 2022. The move wasn’t a surprise considering that Drayton oversaw the Packers’ special teams meltdown during their 13-10 loss to the 49ers in the divisional round of the 2022 NFL playoffs.

The Packers had a 10-3 lead late in the fourth quarter, and their defense had stopped Jimmy Garoppolo on almost every drive. Green Bay would need just one more stop, in all likelihood, to advance to the NFC Championship game.

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They never got the chance to make it. The Packers surrendered a punt block with Corey Bojorquez kicking out of his own end zone. Talanoa Hufanga picked up the block and returned it for a touchdown to tie the game.

PUNT BLOCK TOUCHDOWN.

The @49ers have tied it! #NFLPlayoffs #FTTB

????: #SFvsGB on FOX
????: https://t.co/VWvPUv1xA7 pic.twitter.com/Cf55IHP2Rq

— NFL (@NFL) January 23, 2022

The 49ers would later get a chance to kick the game-winning field goal as time expired. The Packers were unprepared to try to block it; they had just 10 men on the field.

GOULD IS GOOD.

THE @49ERS WIN IN LAMBEAU TO ADVANCE TO THE NFC CHAMPIONSHIP. #FTTB #NFLPlayoffs pic.twitter.com/7JouarMybq

— NFL (@NFL) January 23, 2022

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That allowed Robbie Gould an easy shot at the winning score, and it allowed the 49ers to clinch a victory despite not scoring an offensive touchdown. San Francisco also blocked a Mason Crosby field goal earlier in the game, making the three-point loss all the more painful.

BLOCKED.

It stays a 7-point game at halftime. #FTTB #NFLPlayoffs

????: #SFvsGB on FOX
????: https://t.co/VWvPUv1xA7 pic.twitter.com/4SRcSNobB2

— NFL (@NFL) January 23, 2022

Those weren’t the only issues with Green Bay’s special teams unit. The Packers ranked dead last in the NFL in Rich Gosselin’s yearly special teams rankings. They struggled immensely in the return game, as they had issues both generating yards off both punt and kick returns and defending against them.

Additionally, kicker Mason Crosby missed an NFL-high nine field goals during the regular season. That tied a career-high for him, which he hadn’t seen since 2009, and also caused him to post a career-low 73.5 field goal percentage. He got better as the year went on, but it was still undeniably a down year for him.

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The only area in which the Packers performed well was punting the ball. Corey Bojorquez had an above-average net yardage, but the team still had major problems in punt coverage. That’s why they allowed some huge returns during the season and it’s also part of the reason that they allowed that block against the 49ers. They simply weren’t disciplined and technically sound under Drayton.

Drayton had been with the Packers since 2018, first serving as the team’s assistant special teams coordinator for three years before taking over the unit in 2021. Now, Matt LaFleur and the Packers will have to find another special teams coordinator. It will mark LaFleur’s third special teams coordinator over four years in Green Bay.

Perhaps the Packers will consider former Raiders interim coach Rich Bisaccia to add stability to the position if the veteran coach can’t land a head coaching job.