The “Clemson Way” typically begins with promoting from in-house, or identifying a “Clemson Man,” but Dabo Swinney recently made a move into the NFL to hire someone who should give the rest of the ACC advance notice. On Wednesday morning, the Clemson Board of Trustees announced a new step: Rich Bisaccia is back.
The announcement brings one of the most respected special teams minds in sport back to Death Valley. Bisaccia, who coached at Clemson in the 90s before his storied 20-year spell in the NFL, isn’t just a “hire”; he’s a statement.
It’s not an exciting topic: So let’s be real, Clemson’s special teams have been a wild ride in recent years. In a game of small gains, a guy who leads the Las Vegas Raiders from a real storm to a playoff berth as an interim head coach is an absolute flex. Bisaccia’s contract is a three-year deal through Jan. 2027, worth a cool $1 million this year (including a $100,000 retention bonus). Although $900,000 is an expensive sum for a special teams coordinator, you don’t only have to pay for kick protection.
You’re paying for a “leader of men” who has witnessed everything the professional game can throw at him. Why This Timing is Perfect. For decades, the NCAA’s restrictive coach rules have prevented a move like this from being easy or anything like this.
But with the recent rule that now lets all staff coaches on the field, the stars finally came to splinter for Swinney and Bisaccia.
“We’ve honestly spoken several different times about if he could come join our staff,” Swinney said. “It just never really could work… but with the new rule that it had changed up … he really wanted to finish here at Clemson.”
Swinney wasn’t just seeking a scout for punters. He is seeking a veteran lens through which to help “take Clemson back to the top." Having spent four decades as a coach — with the Buccaneers, Cowboys and Packers, among stops — Bisaccia has a depth of heft few college programs will achieve.
Bisaccia's resume reads like a football odyssey. Since leaving the college ranks in 2002, he has been the gold standard for special teams coordinators in the NFL. But for Bisaccia, this is not so much about the paycheck as it is the place.
“Coach Swinney came to me for the chance to return to a place that holds special meaning for me and my family,” Bisaccia said. “I’m so excited to be back in the Clemson community.”
This is a home run. By finding Bisaccia, Swinney has obtained a coach who easily could be a head coach elsewhere, but figured he would be able to leverage that experience to help solidify a Clemson program that has appeared human in recent years. If the Tigers are going to play the College Football Playoff, they are going to need to win that hidden yardage fight. With Bisaccia in the sidelines — And they only become the favorites to do just that — starting Wednesday afternoon.