Headlines

Green Bay Packers News & Rumors

Packers To Hire Rich Bisaccia As ST Coordinator

By | at February 7, 2022 10:51 am

Green Bay looks to have their latest special teams coordinator in place. NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport reports (via Twitter) that Rich Bisaccia is set to be hired by the Packers. 

[Related: Packers Eyeing Rich Bisaccia For ST Coordinator]

The move shouldn’t come as much of a surprise, given the interest the Packers had in Bisaccia and their stated goal of dramatically improving their ST unit moving forward. Not long after the season ended, it was announced that former coordinator Maurice Drayton would not be returning. That marked the eighth consecutive time the top ST coach either retired or was forced out of Green Bay.

Bisaccia was a candidate for the Raiders’ head coaching job, but was always thought to be a longshot for the role. He also interviewed with the Jaguars for their HC vacancy, but he will now be making a lateral move to Green Bay. The 61-year-old will be joining his fifth NFL team, holding the title of ST coordinator with each of the Buccaneers, Chargers, Cowboys and Raiders previously.

While the move isn’t a promotion for Bisaccia, it looks like it will nevertheless be a lucrative one. Brad Biggs of The Chicago Tribune tweets that his contract is expected to “set a new compensation bar for special teams coordinators”. Perhaps this will bring an end to the cycle of underwhelming performances in the third phase of the game for the Packers, while also giving one of the league’s most well-respected coaches a position on a Super Bowl contender.

17 comments Green Bay Packers

2022 NFL Head Coaching Search Tracker

By | at February 6, 2022 10:15 pm

Last year, seven NFL teams opted to make a head coaching change. Sean Payton stepping away from the Saints created nine full-time vacancies available this year.

Listed below are the head coaching candidates that have been linked to each of the teams with vacancies, along with their current status. If and when other teams decide to make head coaching changes, they’ll be added to this list. Here is the current breakdown:

Updated 2-7-22 (1:45pm CT)

Chicago Bears

Denver Broncos

Houston Texans

Jacksonville Jaguars

Las Vegas Raiders

Miami Dolphins

Minnesota Vikings

New Orleans Saints

New York Giants

63 comments Arizona Cardinals Buffalo Bills Chicago Bears Cincinnati Bengals Dallas Cowboys Denver Broncos Detroit Lions Green Bay Packers Houston Texans Indianapolis Colts Jacksonville Jaguars Kansas City Chiefs Las Vegas Raiders Los Angeles Chargers Los Angeles Rams Miami Dolphins Minnesota Vikings New England Patriots New Orleans Saints New York Giants PFR Originals Philadelphia Eagles San Francisco 49ers Tampa Bay Buccaneers

CB Rasul Douglas Open To Packers Return

By | at February 6, 2022 12:58 pm

Cornerback Rasul Douglas was a revelation for the Packers in 2021. The West Virginia product was selected by the Eagles in the third round of the 2017 draft, but Philadelphia deemed him expendable at final cutdown time before the start of the 2020 season and placed him on waivers. He was claimed by the Panthers shortly thereafter and went on to start 11 games for Carolina in 2020.

However, he finished as a middle-of-the-road performer that year per Pro Football Focus’ advanced metrics, and he signed a one-year pact with the Raiders last April, only to be cut in August. Sensing that he might have a good opportunity with the rebuilding Texans, he signed with Houston one day after being released by Las Vegas, but he was cut again less than a week into his Texans tenure. He subsequently hooked on with the Cardinals’ taxi squad and was poached by the Packers in early October.

Douglas, 27, enjoyed a career year in Green Bay. In just 12 regular season games (nine starts), he picked off five passes, returning two for touchdowns. He had always shown solid ball skills, having averaged 8.5 passes defensed per year over his first four seasons in the league, but his ability to convert those PDs into picks in 2021 was a major asset to the Packers’ defense.

It stands to reason, then, that the club would want to bring Douglas back, and for his part, Douglas is certainly amenable to a return. When asked what it would take for him to re-sign with the Packers, Douglas said all the team would need to do is ask. On a follow-up question as to how much more money Green Bay would have to pay him above the prorated $990K veteran minimum he earned from the team in 2021, he replied “probably a little more. Nothing crazy” (Twitter link via Matt Schneidman of The Athletic).

Of course, even a modest raise will be difficult for the Packers to accommodate. The club is currently projected to be more than $45MM over the cap, and that’s before a presumptive franchise tag for WR Davante Adams. Green Bay has only three CBs under contract for 2022, and while two of those players — Eric Stokes and Jaire Alexander — are high-quality starters, retaining Douglas on something of a team-friendly deal would be especially helpful to a defense that could lose some pass rushing prowess (Za’Darius Smith and Preston Smith) in the front seven.

Douglas’ market will be interesting to monitor. In addition to his counting stats, he allowed just a 45.3% completion rate in 2021, and opposing passers had a meager 49.6 QB rating when throwing in his direction, the third-best mark in the league. So there is plenty of reason to believe that his breakthrough 2021 campaign is sustainable, and assuming rival clubs feel that way, Douglas could be priced out of Green Bay’s range.

11 comments Green Bay Packers

Bears Hire Richard Hightower As ST Coordinator

By | at February 6, 2022 10:21 am

New Bears head coach Matt Eberflus continues to fill out his first staff. Chicago has hired Richard Hightower as its special teams coordinator, the team announced.

This move qualifies as something of a surprise. Hightower had served as the 49ers’ ST coordinator since 2017, joining the Niners when Kyle Shanahan accepted the team’s head coaching post. The two men were college teammates at the University of Texas, and they also worked together on coaching staffs in Houston, Washington, and Cleveland, so it may have been difficult for Eberflus to prise Hightower away from San Francisco.

On the other hand, the 49ers’ special teams units generally struggled over the past several years and ranked 26th in the league in terms of DVOA in 2021, so Shanahan may have been more willing to let his longtime colleague depart than he might have been in years past. Still, Hightower remains a respected coach, and from 2017-19, San Francisco’s kicking unit ranked first in the NFL in made field goals (102) and fourth in field goal percentage (89.5). The club’s punt coverage ranked second in the league over that three-year span (h/t 49ers.com). Of course, Hightower’s charges also played a pivotal role in the Niners’ upset of the Packers in this year’s divisional round matchup, blocking a field goal on the final play of the first half and returning a blocked punt for the team’s only touchdown.

Rich Bisaccia was recently considered the favorite for the Bears’ ST coordinator post, and as Brad Biggs of the Chicago Tribune tweets, Bisaccia was indeed the first choice. It sounds as if Eberflus would have been willing to let Chris Tabor, who worked as Chicago’s special teams coordinator from 2018-21, to continue in his role, but Tabor jumped ship to the Panthers.

Tom Silverstein of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, among others, believes this move means that Bisaccia will be heading to Green Bay (Twitter link). We heard just yesterday that the Packers are in talks with Bisaccia about their own ST coordinator vacancy.

Hightower, 41, worked as Chicago’s assistant special teams coordinator in 2016. He has 15 years of coaching experience in the NFL.

Tom Pelissero of the NFL Network first reported that the Bears were hiring Hightower (via Twitter).

8 comments Chicago Bears Green Bay Packers San Francisco 49ers

Packers Want QB Rodgers Back

By | at February 5, 2022 6:34 pm

In one of the more obvious nuggets of sports news, Packers’ president and CEO Mark Murphy expressed a team interest in quarterback Aaron Rodgers returning for another season in the monthly column Murphy uses to answer fan questions. 

“(Head coach) Matt (LaFleur), (general manager) Brian (Gutekunst), executive vice president/director of football operations Russ Ball and I are all in agreement that we want Aaron to come back,” Murphy wrote.

Despite some internal disputes and Rodgers’ misleading statements about his vaccination status, the 38-year-old is in line to potentially win his 4th MVP award, his second consecutively. He helped lead Green Bay to their second-straight first-round bye in the playoffs, though they did fall short of the Super Bowl for the second-straight year as a one-seed. So while the Packers can easily express their interest in his return, there are quite a few hurdles between that and re-signing him.

It started about 9 months ago when things gradually bubbled over during a long-term contract negotiation between the Packers and Rodgers. Rodgers had reportedly been unhappy during the proceedings and became so disgruntled that he told members of the organization that he didn’t want to return to the team. This frustration continued throughout an offseason that saw loads of trade speculation, including a report that Rodgers was under the impression that the Packers had promised to trade him before reneging on their deal. The offseason also contained a Rodgers hold-out that ended with a deal that some saw as a “Last Dance” contract that would help set up his departure after the season ended.

After a tumultuous offseason, came Rodgers’ issues with COVID-19. While the team, and reportedly the league, knew about Rodgers’ vaccination status, his positive COVID-19 test led to an investigation of the Packers’ mishandling of protocols.

Immediately after the season ended, Rodgers made it clear that he has no interest in staying in Green Bay if he doesn’t think the team can win in 2022. The veteran-QB told ESPN, “I don’t want to be part of a rebuild if I’m going to keep playing.” A big part of that will rely on the return of two-time All-Pro receiver Davante Adams. Adams is set for quite the payday following a contract year that saw him rank second in the NFL in catches (123), third in receiving yards (1,553), and fifth in receiving touchdowns (11).

Another point that could factor into Rodgers’ decision is the shuffled offensive staff. Former-offensive coordinator Nathaniel Hackett is now the head coach of the Broncos and quarterbacks coach/passing-game coordinator Luke Getsy is the new offensive coordinator in Chicago. While Green Bay did promote a familiar face in offensive line coach/running-game coordinator Adam Stenavich, Rodgers is still without his QB coach and offensive coordinator of the last three seasons.

Lastly, and potentially most important in the list of things that undermine Murphy’s claim, is the Packers’ cap situation. Even if they can convince Rodgers to return to Wisconsin, the Packers are currently expected to be about $45MM over the cap, not including the hits from a tagged or re-signed Adams. In order to bring back both Adams and Rodgers, the team would likely have to part ways with a number of cap-heavy players.

Regardless, the Packers can cross the declaration off their list. It was the first thing they needed to do on a laundry list of tasks to bring Rodgers back. They can now move on in their pursuit and get to work on building a team that Aaron Rodgers thinks can win a Super Bowl, convincing him to return, and somehow paying for it all.

31 comments Green Bay Packers

NFC Coaching Notes: Eberflus, Bucs, Panthers, Giants, Packers

By | at February 5, 2022 4:22 pm

Although Matt Eberflus landed the Bears job because of the Colts’ defensive performance, Chicago’s new HC is planning more of a CEO-type role for himself. Eberflus is not planning to call defensive plays for the Bears this season, via The Athletic’s Adam Jahns (on Twitter). Instead, new Chicago DC Alan Williams will handle that responsibility. Williams, 52, has previous DC experience, working under Leslie Frazier in Minnesota in the early 2010s, and has enjoyed a few tours as a DBs coach. This will be an interesting transition for Eberflus, a first-time HC. It will not be a notable transition for the Bears, who spent much of the past two seasons with their head coach operating in a CEO-type capacity. Matt Nagy handed off play-calling duties to then-OC Bill Lazor in each of the past two seasons.

Here is the latest from the NFC coaching carousel:

  • The Buccaneers are set to go through a major transition, with Tom Brady‘s retirement ending a brief but successful era that likely doubled as the second-highest peak in franchise history. But Bruce Arians is not eyeing a rebuild. The fourth-year Bucs HC denied a report that indicated the team would allow assistants to pursue other jobs even if the new positions were not promotions, per The Athletic’s Greg Auman (on Twitter). It looks like Arians will keep both coordinators — Byron Leftwich and Todd Bowles — for the 2022 season, so Tampa Bay will still feature considerable continuity despite Brady’s departure and the presumptive exits of some key free agents.
  • Circling back to the Bears, the team made some additional hires in recent days. New OC Luke Getsy‘s right-hand man on the Justin Fields front will be Andrew Janocko, Chicago’s new quarterbacks coach. Janocko spent the past seven seasons with the Vikings, ending the run by serving as their QBs coach in 2021. He also worked as the Vikes’ receivers coach and assistant O-line coach at points during his long Minnesota tenure. The Bears also hired James Rowe as their secondary coach. Rowe will come over after serving as the Colts’ cornerbacks coach. David Overstreet, Indianapolis’ assistant DBs coach, will also follow Eberflus and fill the same position with the Bears. Overstreet moved up from the quality control level with Indy in 2021.
  • Former Packers offensive line coach James Campen landed a job as the Panthers‘ O-line coach, Field Yates of ESPN.com tweets. Following a 12-year tenure in Green Bay, Campen will begin the 2022 season with a new team for the fourth straight year. He coached the Browns, Chargers and Texans’ O-lines from 2019-21.
  • Giants running backs coach Burton Burns is expected to retire, Ryan Dunleavy of the New York Post tweets. Burns, 69, began coaching in 1981 and spent the past two years as the Giants’ RBs coach — his only NFL position during his career. Fellow college-staff veteran Kevin Sherrer is expected to follow Burns on the way out, per Dunleavy. Sherrer served as the Giants’ linebackers coach last season and migrated to the NFL level, like Burns, for the first time in 2020.
  • To replace tight ends coach Justin Outten, who made a big leap to become the Broncos’ offensive coordinator, the Packers promoted John Dunn. Although this is a promotion, after Dunn spent the 2021 season as an offensive analyst in Green Bay, he coached Jets tight ends from 2019-20.
3 comments Carolina Panthers Chicago Bears Green Bay Packers Indianapolis Colts Minnesota Vikings New York Giants Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Packers Eyeing Rich Bisaccia For ST Coordinator

By | at February 5, 2022 12:35 pm

After losing out on the Raiders HC job, Rich Bisaccia may quickly land on his feet. According to Tom Silverstein of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel (via Twitter), Bisaccia has had talks with Packers head coach Matt LaFleur about joining the staff as special teams coordinator.

Per the reporter, the Packers would have to pay up if they want the long-time ST coach to join Green Bay, but the organization may be willing to meet his demands. One thing going for the Packers is Bisaccia’s relationship with defensive coordinator Joe Barry; per Silverstein (on Twitter), the two worked together in Tampa Bay, and Barry is the son-in-law of Rod Marinelli, who is Bisaccia’s “best friend.”

Bisaccia has spent close to two decades in the NFL as a special teams coordinator, having worked for the Buccaneers, Chargers, Cowboys, and Raiders. He joined the Raiders organization in 2018, and he took on the role of interim head coach following the ousting of Jon Gruden in 2021. The 61-year-old ended up guiding the team to a 7-5 record and a playoff appearance.

Following his brief success as HC, Bisaccia had been considered for head coaching gigs with the Raiders and Jaguars this offseason. Meanwhile, the Packers recently moved on from ST coordinator Maurice Drayton following a playoff loss that saw the Packers allow a blocked punt (which was returned for a touchdown) and a blocked field goal.

14 comments Green Bay Packers

Broncos To Interview Packers’ Justin Outten For OC; Klint Kubiak On Radar

By | at February 1, 2022 6:13 pm

Nathaniel Hackett‘s offensive coordinator search has hit multiple snags, with the Packers nixing meetings with multiple candidates. The new Broncos HC is still aiming to bring over a Green Bay assistant to be his right-hand man on offense in Denver.

Packers tight ends coach Justin Outten is expected to interview for the Broncos’ OC job, Mike Klis of 9News reports. Outten has been with the Packers since 2019. Although Outten was never a position coach prior to the Green Bay gig, he spent time under Kyle Shanahan with the Falcons as an intern in 2016. A high school assistant coach for eight years prior to trekking to Atlanta, Outten spent three seasons with the Falcons and emerged on the Broncos’ radar over the weekend.

The Broncos are also planning to interview Klint Kubiak, Klis adds, though they might not be targeting him for their OC job. The second-generation coach is being considered for another top staff position. This could mean a gig as quarterbacks coach, Kubiak’s role in Minnesota prior to rising to offensive coordinator in 2021. Klint Kubiak was with the Broncos as an offensive assistant from 2016-18, the first of those seasons coming during father Gary Kubiak‘s HC stint. The Panthers interviewed Klint Kubiak, 34, for their OC role last month.

The Packers promoted Hackett’s initial Broncos OC target, O-line coach Adam Stenavich, to replace him as OC. Matt LaFleur also nixed Hackett’s plans to interview Green Bay wide receivers coach Jason Vrable. This led the Broncos to Outten, who joins Chargers tight ends coach Kevin Koger as OC candidates. It is interesting this job could come down to two tight ends coaches with a combined four years of position-coaching experience. But Hackett is planning to bring the West Coast Offense back to Denver; Outten and Kubiak have recent experience in this system. Hackett is expected to call plays for the Broncos.

While the Broncos requested a defensive coordinator interview with Ravens D-line coach Anthony Weaver, Rams secondary coach Ejiro Evero — a longtime friend of Hackett’s — can probably be considered the favorite for that job.

2 comments Denver Broncos Green Bay Packers

Latest On Packers’ Coaching Staff

By | at February 1, 2022 3:35 pm

More changes have been made official today on the Packers’ coaching staff. The most notable of them, as Tom Silverstein of The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reports, is that special teams coordinator Maurice Drayton will not return (Twitter link).

That news certainly doesn’t come as a surprise to many, given the unit’s struggles throughout the season. After ranking dead last in the league in terms of special teams DVOA, the issue came to a head in Green Bay’s loss to the 49ers in the Divisional round. With a blocked field goal at the end of the first half, and a blocked punt that was returned for a touchdown late in the fourth quarter, the unit’s performance played a large role in yet another 13-win season coming to a premature end.

Problems in the third phase of the game are nothing new in Green Bay. As The Athletic’s Jason Wilde tweets, the news of Drayton’s departure continues a seemingly never-ending trend of new coordinators cycling in and out. The new ST coordinator will be the fourth in the past five seasons for the team. As ESPN’s Rob Demovsky notes, Drayton is the eighth consecutive ST coach to either be fired or forced out (Twitter link).

With Nathaniel Hackett and Luke Getsy being hired by the Broncos and Bears, respectively, other changes were necessary on the offensive staff. It has already been reported that Adam Stenavich has been promoted to OC, which left a vacancy in the role of offensive line coach. To fill it, Luke Butkus, who had previously been an assistant o-line coach in Green Bay for three seasons, got promoted (Twitter link via The Athletic’s Matt Schneidman).

Schneidman adds that Ryan Mahaffey is being promoted to assistant o-line coach after one season in Green Bay. As well, Connor Lewis has been promoted to assistant QBs coach following six seasons with the team. Lastly, wide receivers coach Jason Vrabel, who has spent three years with the Packers, including two in that role, has had passing game coordinator added to his title.

4 comments Green Bay Packers

Updated 2022 NFL Draft Order

By | at January 31, 2022 8:54 am

Championship Sunday has come and gone, and with it, we now know the matchup for Super Bowl LVI. The Rams’ win on Sunday guarantees that the Lions’ other first round pick will be in the bottom two, slightly devaluing it relative to if they had lost. Still, it is one of the bargaining chips they hold if they were to attempt to move up into the top spot, from their current position of second. As one of four teams with multiple picks in the opening round, Detroit will certainly be a squad to keep an eye on in April.

For non-playoff teams, the draft order is determined by the inverted 2021 standings, plus a series of tiebreakers, starting with strength of schedule. For playoff teams, the order is determined by their postseason outcome and regular season record.

Here is the updated order after this weekend’s results:

  1. Jacksonville Jaguars: 3-14
  2. Detroit Lions: 3-13-1
  3. Houston Texans: 4-13
  4. New York Jets: 4-13
  5. New York Giants: 4-13
  6. Carolina Panthers: 5-12
  7. New York Giants(via Bears)
  8. Atlanta Falcons: 7-10
  9. Denver Broncos: 7-10
  10. New York Jets (via Seahawks)
  11. Washington Football Team: 7-10
  12. Minnesota Vikings: 8-9
  13. Cleveland Browns: 8-9
  14. Baltimore Ravens: 8-9
  15. Philadelphia Eagles (via Dolphins)
  16. Philadelphia Eagles (via Colts)
  17. Los Angeles Chargers: 9-8
  18. New Orleans Saints: 9-8
  19. Philadelphia Eagles: 9-8
  20. Pittsburgh Steelers: 9-7-1
  21. New England Patriots: 10-7
  22. Las Vegas Raiders: 10-7
  23. Arizona Cardinals: 11-6
  24. Dallas Cowboys: 12-5
  25. Buffalo Bills: 11-6
  26. Tennessee Titans: 12-5
  27. Tampa Bay Buccaneers: 13-4
  28. Green Bay Packers: 13-4
  29. Miami Dolphins (via 49ers)
  30. Kansas City Chiefs: 12-5
  31. Cincinnati Bengals: 10-7*
  32. Detroit Lions (via Rams)

* = Remaining playoff teams

6 comments 2022 NFL Draft Arizona Cardinals Atlanta Falcons Baltimore Ravens Buffalo Bills Carolina Panthers Chicago Bears Cincinnati Bengals Cleveland Browns Dallas Cowboys Denver Broncos Detroit Lions Green Bay Packers Houston Texans Indianapolis Colts Jacksonville Jaguars Kansas City Chiefs Las Vegas Raiders Los Angeles Chargers Los Angeles Rams Miami Dolphins Minnesota Vikings New England Patriots New Orleans Saints New York Giants New York Jets Philadelphia Eagles Pittsburgh Steelers San Francisco 49ers Seattle Seahawks Tampa Bay Buccaneers Tennessee Titans Washington Commanders
Show all
Go To Pro Hockey Rumors
Go To Hoops Rumors