GREEN BAY \u2014 To hear Brian Gutekunst tell it, the Green Bay Packers weren\u2019t in any way considering making a change with their special-teams coordinator.\u00a0<\/p>\n
In fact, veteran assistant head coach Rich Bisaccia\u2019s decision to step down from his posts 38 days after the team\u2019s season-ending playoff loss to the Chicago Bears blindsided the organization \u2014 and head coach Matt LaFleur, who\u2019s now in the market for someone new to run his special teams units.<\/p>\n
Gutekunst, speaking to a small group of Wisconsin-based reporters at a downtown Indianapolis hotel during the annual NFL scouting combine, said Tuesday that he was under the impression that there are \u201csome other opportunities\u201d Bisaccia wanted to pursue.<\/p>\n
\u201cI wouldn\u2019t say we were expecting it at all. It caught us by surprise,\u201d Gutekunst said of the 65-year-old Bisaccia tendering his resignation after four years with the Packers. \u201c[We\u2019re] very appreciative for his run with us.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think he\u2019s a fabulous football coach. It\u2019s a big loss. But Matt\u2019s going through [the interview process] now and hopefully we\u2019ll be able to get that replaced.\u201d<\/p>\n
Asked if he expected Bisaccia to coach again, Gutekunst replied, \u201cI would think so, but I\u2019ll let Rich answer for that.\u201d<\/p>\n
When he made his announcement via a statement released by the organization, Bisaccia said he had taken \u201csome time to reflect over the last few weeks,\u201d and that it led to \u201cthe decision to step down\u201d as both assistant head coach and special-teams coordinator.<\/p>\n
In announcing Bisaccia\u2019s departure, LaFleur said the organization was \u201cdisappointed to lose a person and coach as valuable as Rich\u201d but that the club would \u201crespect his decision,\u201d wishing him and his family well.<\/p>\n
\u201cRich was a tremendous resource to me and our entire coaching staff who had a profound impact on our players and our culture throughout the building,\u201d LaFleur said in his statement. \u201cWe can\u2019t thank him enough for his contributions to our team over the last four years.\u201d<\/p>\n
LaFleur has not spoken with reporters since the day after the team\u2019s 31-27 NFC wild card playoff loss to the Bears on Jan. 10. Like many coaches in recent years, LaFleur isn\u2019t attending the scouting combine, having stopped coming several years ago.<\/p>\n
The timing of Bisaccia\u2019s decision to step down meant nearly a dozen other NFL teams had hired new special-teams coordinators before Bisaccia called it quits. One of those was Byron Storer, Bisaccia\u2019s right-hand man in Green Bay (and Las Vegas before that) who is the Cleveland Browns\u2019 new coordinator.<\/p>\n
Gutekunst, though, said he was looking at the situation as \u201cglass half full\u201d because the Packers won\u2019t be competing with a host of other teams for their next coordinator.<\/p>\n
LaFleur has reportedly interviewed at least four candidates: New York Giants assistant special teams coach Cam Achord; ex-Las Vegas Raiders special-teams coordinator Tom McMahon, who actually replaced Bisaccia after Bisaccia departed for the Packers in 2022; Arizona Cardinals assistant special teams coach Sam Sewell; and New Orleans Saints assistant special teams coach Kyle Wilber.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis actually allows us to take our time. I think when you get into that coaching cycle, sometimes you\u2019ve got to move fast without knowing everything you want to know about the candidates,\u201d Gutekunst said. \u201cRight now, we don\u2019t have a lot of competition. so Matt\u2019s taking his time, being really thorough.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe candidates that he\u2019s bringing in, I\u2019m pretty excited about. So I know he\u2019s going to spend some time with them this week and hopefully we\u2019ll have that figured out sooner rather than later. But we\u2019re not under any type of time crunch, which is nice.\u201d<\/p>\n
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