According to Tiger Illustrated, Clemson’s On3/Rivals site, former Green Bay Packers special teams coordinator Rich Bisaccia is nearing a deal with the Clemson Tigers. Per Tiger Illustrated, the deal needs to go in front of the school’s board of trustees (BOT), a sign that the contract on the table comes with major financial backing.
Bisaccia stepped down from his post in Green Bay two weeks ago, leaving the Packers with the lone coordinator vacancy open after 11 other special teams coordinators were
hired around the league, including Cleveland snatching Bisaccia’s right-hand man, Byron Storer. General manager Brian Gutekunst stated at the combine that the team was not expecting Bisaccia to leave this offseason and that Bisaccia was going to pursue other opportunities.
What’s very interesting here is that Clemson doesn’t have a special teams coordinator vacancy. Mike Reed, their assistant head coach, special teams coordinator and cornerbacks coach, is still under contract with the team. Last year, Reed was the second-highest paid special teams coach in college football, only behind Jeff Banks of Texas. Banks made $1.2 million while Reed made $950,000 last year. Joe DeCamillis, formerly of South Carolina, made $850,000 before leaving to take the Las Vegas Raiders’ coordinator position this offseason.
Reed wasn’t a special teams coach from 2013 t0 2021 at Clemson, when he was able to focus as the team’s defensive backs coach, but his defensive duties were limited to just cornerbacks beginning in 2022, when he took on the special teams role. The addition of Bisaccia may allow Reed to return to the defensive staff full-time, even if Reed is still making coordinator-level money. In that context, it makes sense why the team would need BOT approval for increased cash spend on the coaching staff. For what it’s worth, it’s not common to need a BOT meeting for every coach added to the staff.
Reed’s special teams history started before 2022, though, as he was originally a special teams coach for the 2002 to 2006 Philadelphia Eagles, a unit led by John Harbaugh and Dave Toub. When I asked around in the college football world about potential coordinators who could make a jump to the league, Reed and Michigan State’s LeVar Woods (played in the league, hasn’t coached and was the long-time Iowa coordinator) were the names I was pointed to the most.
Last Friday, it was announced that the Packers signed former New England Patriots special teams coordinator Cameron Achord to fill the void left by Bisaccia.
If approved, this will be Bisaccia’s first stint at the college level since he was Mississippi’s assistant head coach, running backs coach and special teams coach in 2001. He previously spent 1994 to 1998 at Clemson, as the running backs coach and special teams coach, after spending 1988 to 1993 with South Carolina, their in-state rival.
