New Packers ST coordinator came highly recommended after Bisaccia's exit

The timing of Rich Bisaccia's exit as Green Bay Packers special teams coordinator wasn't ideal, but his replacement came from a list of recommended replacements provided by Bisaccia to coach Matt LaFleur upon his unexpected exit. Answering questions at the league meetings in Phoenix, LaFleur said new special teams coordinator Cam Achord was on Bisaccia's short list of replacement candidates, and the former New England Patriots special teams coordinator was frequently mentioned during LaFleur's discussions with other NFL coaches as he scrambled to find a replacement over a month after the Packers' season ended. Bisaccia, who served four seasons as the Packers coordinator, stepped down on Feb.

17, well after most candidates had been hired during the 2026 coaching cycle. LaFleur went through interviews and announced the hiring of Achord only 10 days later. “The timing wasn’t the best when you’re trying to hire a new special teams coordinator, but yeah, I was super impressed,” LaFleur said, via Matt Schneidman of The Athletic .

“I talked to some guys around the league just in regards to who was available, and his name came up quite often … obviously, he’s done it in New England. He’s learned from arguably the greatest or one of the greatest coaches in NFL history, so I’m really excited about what he’s gonna bring to our special teams. ” Before running the Patriots special teams for four seasons (2020-23), Achord learned under Bill Belichick and Joe Judge as an assistant for two seasons (2018-19).

He ran a top-ranked special teams unit in 2020 and twice had All-Pro returners in New England. LaFleur also said he never had a "direct conversation" with Bisaccia about his reasons for resigning, but he assumed a desire to get closer to home was at the heart of the decision. Two weeks after stepping down in Green Bay, Bisaccia accepted the special teams coordinator job at Clemson.