Bill Huber of Sports Illustrated has two names to share with you regarding the Green Bay Packers’ special teams coordinator search. First, he reported that Cameron Achord “is among the candidates to replace Rich Bisaccia.” A couple of hours later, Huber also reported that Kyle Wilber will be interviewed for the job, too.
Let’s take a look at both candidates.
Cameron Achord
Achord was Joe Judge’s replacement in New England when Judge took over as the head coach of the New York Giants. Before 2020, when he started
his four years as special teams coordinator for the Patriots, he had previously served as New England’s assistant special teams coach — the number two role there.
Here’s how Achord’s units ranked under his watch, per DVOA:
- 2020: 1st
- 2021: 18th
- 2022: 32nd
- 2023: 28th
He started hot, but the unit slipped over time. That’s a general trend with the special teams coaches who are available right now, including Matthew Smiley, who has the best special teams DVOA average among coaches who have cycled out of the job over the last two seasons and are still available to hire.
Achord has been out of the special teams coordinator role for the last two seasons and was passed over by the 11 other teams that hired new coordinators this offseason. He’s been serving in the number two role with the Giants the last two years, but it looks like he wasn’t retained by John Harbaugh, as Achord did not appear on the team’s staff announcement. T.J. Weist was listed as the Giants’ assistant special teams coach, previously the role Achord held.
Kyle Wilber
Wilber hasn’t ever been in the coordinator role before, but he is a long-time Rich Bisaccia guy. Wilber played a 10-year NFL career and worked under Bisaccia for nine of those seasons. When his playing career ended, he served as a quality control coach, the number three role, under Bisaccia with the Packers from 2023 to 2024.
The number two was Byron Storer, one of two assistants who got a first-time coordinator opportunity league-wide this offseason. The Packers still being in the Bisaccia tree market, despite Storer just being hired away just a week ago, makes me believe even more that Bisaccia’s stepping down happened quickly and head coach Matt LaFleur didn’t see it coming.
Last offseason, Wilber left Green Bay to take the assistant special teams coach job with the New Orleans Saints, a step up the career ladder.
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Huber also reported that Tom McMahon and Matthew Smiley “are expected to be strong candidates” to replace Bisaccia, too. We hit on both McMahon and Smiley’s career resumes. Among special teams coordinators from 2024 to 2025 who were available at one point this fire-hire cycle, Smiley’s statistical resume ranks 5th while McMahon’s ranks 10th. For what it’s worth, Achord would have been 9th on the list.
