With the loss of Chris Tabor to the Carolina Panthers, the Bears are in need of a new Special Teams Coordinator. Their pick? Rich Bisaccia.
Bisaccia just wrapped up his fourth season with the Las Vegas Raiders, stepping in as interim head coach midway through the season. He led the Raiders to a 7-5 record and their first playoff bid since 2016.
The catch for new front office duo Ryan Poles and Matt Eberflus is that Bisaccia is currently being considered to stay on as the head coach with the Raiders permanently. Should the Raider pass on Bisaccia, league reports indicate Chicago is optimistic about their chances of landing him.
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Bisaccia and Eberflus spent four seasons together as coordinators with the Dallas Cowboys from 2013 to 2017. During that stretch, Dallas made it to two divisional round matchups, narrowly losing to the Packers both times.
Bisaccia then went on to join the then-Oakland Raiders. He’s been with the Raiders through three-straight seasons -- missing out on the playoffs, their relocation to Las Vegas and the resignation of head coach Jon Gruden after numerous homophobic, misogynistic and racist emails were leaked from Gruden’s nine-year tenure with ESPN.
Following Gruden’s resignation in mid-October, the Raiders’ front office tapped Bisaccia as the interim head coach. Under Bisaccia’s leadership, the Raiders went 7-5 to close out the season 10-7. Their final game of the regular season was an overtime win over the Los Angeles Chargers, with Raiders’ kicker Daniel Carlson connecting on a 47-yard field goal with the clock expiring. This must-need win punched the Raiders’ ticket to the NFL playoffs for the first time in five seasons.
With the Bears and Broncos having filled their head coaching vacancies, there are currently seven teams still on the hunt.
NFL
The Raiders interviewed Bisaccia earlier this week, along with New England inside linebacker coach Jerod Mayo and Tampa Bay defensive coordinator Todd Bowles. San Francisco defensive coordinator DeMeco Ryans and New England offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels are expected to interview early next week. Of that group, only Bisaccia and Bowles, who previously was the play caller for the New York Jets, have head coaching experience.