Associate Head Coach/Special Teams Coordinator
NFL Experience: 8
Years with Buccaneers: 8
Richard Bisaccia is in his eighth season in 2009 leading the Buccaneers special teams unit and his first as associate head coach/special teams coordinator. He spent the 2008 season as associate head coach/special teams and running backs. In his seven seasons on the Tampa Bay sideline, the Buccaneers special teams unit has had its most successful stretch in team history.Over the past four seasons (2005-2008), the Buccaneers have sent three special teams players to the Pro Bowl: P Josh Bidwell (2005), LS Dave Moore (2006) and KR Clifton Smith (2008) after sending just one in team history prior to that (K Martin Gramatica in 2000).
Under the direction of Bisaccia, Bidwell and K Matt Bryant have become arguably the most successful players at their respective positions in Buccaneers history. Bidwell, who joined the Buccaneers in 2004, already owns team records for gross punting average (44.0), net punting average (37.2), punts inside the 20-yard line (124), most punts (419) and punting yardage (18,426). He also owns four of the top five best single-season gross punting averages in team history (2005-2008), five of the top 10 best single-season net averages (2004-2008) and four of the top 10 single seasons for most punts placed inside the 20 (2004-2005, 2007-2008).
Bryant has been equally impressive under Bisaccia, ranking first in team history for highest field goal percentage (.831), third in most made field goals (98) and tied for fourth in points (416) in just four seasons in Tampa Bay. The past two seasons have been the best of Bryant’s career, setting new career highs in 2007 in field goals made and attempted, extra points made and attempted and total points, only to surpass those totals with a Pro Bowl caliber campaign in 2008.
The 2008 season was perhaps the best special teams campaign in franchise history. Rookie return man Clifton Smith, who joined the Buccaneers as an undrafted free agent and didn’t play in a game until Week 8 at Dallas, became the first ever Buccaneer selected to the Pro Bowl as a kick returner. He was also the second rookie in team history to make the annual all-star game and just the third player in the NFL since 1970 to be selected to the Pro Bowl in the same year they entered the league as an undrafted free agent. Smith was also the only Buccaneer to earn All-Pro honors, garnering second-team recognition. Smith was the only player in the NFL in 2008 and only player in Buccaneers history to return a punt and a kickoff for a touchdown. Smith ranked fifth in the NFL and second in the NFC with a 27.6-yard kickoff-return average while ranking second in the NFL and first in the NFC with a 14.1-yard punt-return average last season. He was named NFC Special Teams Player of the Week in Week 9 after setting a franchise record with 257 return yards at Kansas City, including a 97-yard kickoff return for a touchdown. Smith also earned NFC Special Teams Player of the Month honors in November.
For the second consecutive year in 2008, Bryant put together the best season of his career with Bisaccia. Bryant’s 131 points were a career high, ranked fourth in the NFL and third in the NFC, while also ranking as the highest single-season scoring mark in team history. Bryant hit 32-of-38 field goal attempts on the season, setting career highs in attempts and field goals as he ranked fourth in the NFL and third in the NFC in field goals made and tied for third in the NFL and tied for second in the NFC in field goals attempted. The 2008 campaign also saw Bryant connect on three game-winning field goals for the Buccaneers and earn NFC Special Teams Player of the Week honors in Week 4 against Green Bay.
Bidwell was again one of the most productive punters in the league last season, ranking 10th in the NFL and fifth in the NFC with a 44.5 gross average while his 27 punts inside the 20 ranked tied for sixth in the NFL and third in the NFC and were the second highest total of his career.
The 2008 season was Bisaccia’s lone season in charge of the running backs. Despite losing starting RB Earnest Graham to injury for the season in Week 11, the Buccaneers had two runners rush for over 500 yards on the season and average an impressive 4.07-yards per carry, the fifth-best average in team history. Additionally, the Tampa Bay ground game churned out 114.8 yards per game, the ninth-best average in franchise annals.
RB Warrick Dunn, who re-joined the Buccaneers after six seasons in Atlanta, took over the starting role when Graham went down and finished the season with 786 yards on 186 carries (4.2 avg.) to lead the team while posting two touchdowns. Dunn also ranked tied for second on the team with 47 receptions for 330 yards. In his first season with Bisaccia, Dunn became just the sixth player in NFL history to record 10,000 rushing yards and 500 receptions in his career when he posted the 500th catch of his career in Week 15 at Atlanta.
The aforementioned Graham, who was coming off the best season of his career in 2007, was on pace to surpass the 1,000-yard rushing plateau for the first time in his career in 2008 before his season ended. Graham finished with 563 yards on 132 carries (4.3 avg.) with a team-high tying four rushing touchdowns.
Bisaccia also welcomed back RB Carnell Williams to his corps in 2008, following a devastating knee injury in Week 4 of the 2007 season. Williams rejoined the active roster in Week 11 and went on to play in six games with one start, posting 233 yards on 63 carries with a team-high tying four rushing touchdowns. His lone start came in the season’s final game against Oakland when he was putting on the best performance since his return, rushing 12 times for 78 yards (6.5 avg.) with two rushing touchdowns before sustaining another serious knee injury in the fourth quarter.
Under the direction of Bisaccia in 2007, the Buccaneers ranked 12th-best in the NFL in kickoff return average (23.3 avg.), seventh-best in punt return coverage (7.4 avg.) and second-best in kickoff return coverage (19.5 avg.). The special teams unit also made history as KR Micheal Spurlock ran 90 yards for the first-ever kickoff return touchdown in Bucs history.
In 2007, Bryant had a then career-high 118 points, sixth in the NFC and tied for 10th in the NFL, ranking third in team history for points in a single season, connecting on a then career-high 28 field goals on 33 attempts and was 34-of-34 on PATs. He made his then sixth-career game-winning field goal, a 43-yarder, in Week 5 vs. Tennessee (10/14) and was named NFC Special Teams Player of the Month in December by connecting on 10-of-11 field goal attempts while hitting a season-long 49-yard field goal and converting all 12 PATs.
Bidwell punted 77 times for 3,382 yards (43.9 avg.) and matched a franchise record for most punts inside the opponents 20-yard line with 30 in 2007. WR Mark Jones also set a Buccaneers single-season record for kickoff return average (28.6 avg.) in 2007.
In 2006, Bryant continued to be a consistent scoring threat for the Buccaneers and authored one of the most exciting finishes to a game in NFL history. In a Week 7 contest against the Philadelphia Eagles, Bryant connected on a 62-yard, game-winning field goal as time expired while garnering NFC Special Teams Player of the Week honors. It was the second-longest game-winning field goal in NFL history and the third-longest field goal overall. Bryant also connected on 11 consecutive field goal attempts during the season. Additionally, the Bucs kickoff coverage unit excelled in 2006, ranking first in the NFL in lowest opponent kickoff return average (18.4 avg.).
For the second consecutive season in 2006, a member of Bisaccia’s unit was sent to the Pro Bowl. TE/LS Dave Moore was added to the NFC Pro Bowl roster as a need player to handle the long snapping chores in the all-star game, marking the first time in team history a Buccaneers special teamer was named to the Pro Bowl in consecutive seasons. Additionally, CB Torrie Cox was named as the first alternate as the NFC special teams player and earned USA Today All-Joe Team honors. Cox, who excelled on the punt and kickoff coverage units while also sharing the kickoff return duties, finished the 2006 season ranked tied for first on the team with 20 special teams tackles.
In his third season under Bisaccia in 2006, Bidwell was again a steady performer for the Buccaneers. His 52.3-yard average against Seattle in Week 17 was his highest single-game gross average as a member of the Buccaneers and the third highest of his career. Additionally, his 43.5 average in 2006 was the then second highest of his career.
In his second year with the Buccaneers under Bisaccia in 2005, Bidwell was named to his first Pro Bowl and earned second-team Associated Press All-Pro honors while ranking third in the NFL and first in the NFC with a career-best 45.6-yard average. His 45.6-yard gross average in 2005 still ranks as the best single-season average in team history. Bidwell also garnered NFC Special Teams Player of the Month honors in November and NFC Special Teams Player of the Week honors in Week 3 and Week 6. Bidwell placed 24 punts inside the 20-yard line in 2005, then the second-highest total of his career, to rank fifth in the NFC and tied for fifth all-time in team history. Against Miami in Week 6, Bidwell placed a single-game career-high five punts inside the 20-yard line.
Bryant also flourished in his first season under Bisaccia in 2005, connecting on 21-of-25 (.840) field goal attempts, including two game-winners (at Atlanta and vs. Atlanta), while connecting on a then career-long 50-yard field goal. His .840 field goal percentage was the then third-highest single-season percentage in team history. WR Mark Jones ranked fourth in the NFC in punt return average, returning a conference-leading 51 punts for 492 yards (9.6 avg.).
Bisaccia’s unit challenged several team and individual records in 2004, including best kickoff return average, most kickoff return yardage, most punts inside the 20-yard line and highest net and gross punting averages. Bidwell placed 23 punts inside the 20 to rank, at the time, tied for fifth in team history and tied for eighth in the NFC. Cox recorded an impressive 26.2-yard kickoff return average to finish fourth in the NFL and second in team history for a single season. Additionally, the 24.2-yard team kickoff return average in 2004 was at the time tops in Buccaneers history and ranked fourth in the NFL, while the 1,450 total kickoff return yards were at the time second-best all-time in team annals. LB Keith Burns led the team with 23 special teams tackles while earning Buccaneers special teams MVP and USA Today All-Joe Team honors.
In his first season with Bisaccia in 2004, Bidwell posted a 42.3-yard average, then the second-highest average of his career, to rank eighth in the NFC and, at the time, seventh-best in team history. Bidwell also tied or established new single-game career highs in net punting average (44.3 avg. at St. Louis, 10/18), gross punting yards (371 yards vs. Seattle, 9/19) and punts placed inside the 20 (four vs. Denver, 10/3) which he topped in 2005.
The Buccaneers special teams enjoyed success throughout the 2002 season and proved vital in the franchise’s first-ever Super Bowl title. Buccaneers career scoring leader, K Martin Gramatica, hit 32-of-39 (.821) field attempts in 2002, including 5-of-6 from 50 or more yards while also hitting all 32 of his PATs. Gramatica tied for the NFC lead with a career-high 32 field goals, while his 39 field goal attempts and 128 points in 2002 were new club single-season records. Additionally, his five field goals from over 50 yards were tied for the league lead with Paul Edinger of the Chicago Bears. P Tom Tupa’s 42.8-yard average ranked fourth in the NFC and he set a team single-season record with 30 punts placed inside the 20. He also set a Buccaneers single-game record for gross punting average (52.0) in a game at New Orleans.
Bisaccia joined the Buccaneers in 2002 after spending three seasons (1999-2001) at the University of Mississippi. Bisaccia was assistant head coach in 2000 and 2001, while also serving as the running backs coach and special teams coordinator throughout his three seasons at Ole Miss.
Bisaccia tutored All-SEC performers RB Deuce McAllister, RB Joe Gunn and K Les Binkley during his tenure. Ole Miss also excelled in special teams under Bisaccia, with Binkley setting a single-season scoring mark for a kicker. In 2000, the Rebels returned both a kickoff and a punt for a touchdown, and the 2001 unit led the conference and ranked 12th in the nation in kickoff returns with a 24.4-yard average. Jason Armstead finished second in the SEC and ninth nationally with a 27.6-yard average on kickoff returns in 2001.
McAllister, who was chosen in the first round of the 2001 NFL Draft by New Orleans, established 18 school records in his career. He ended his career with a team-record 3,060 yards rushing and was named all-conference in both 1999 and 2000. McAllister was also selected to the All-SEC team as either an all-purpose player or a punt returner during his final two seasons. In 1999, both McAllister and Gunn earned first-team All-SEC recognition as they formed one of the top rushing tandems in the nation, combining for more than 1,700 rushing yards. Gunn closed his career in 2001 second to McAllister in rushing yards with 2,749.
Prior to his stint at Ole Miss, Bisaccia spent five seasons (1994-1998) as the running backs coach, special teams coordinator and recruiting coordinator at Clemson. Under his tutelage, the Tigers set a school record with eight blocked kicks in 1997, and were the only team in the nation to have four players ranked in the Top 25 in four special teams categories in 1995. Bisaccia also coached three-time All-Atlantic Coast Conference running back Raymond Priester, who set 18 school rushing records. Over the three-year period from 1995-1997, Clemson had 15 blocked kicks, the most-ever for a three-year span in school history. In addition, Tony Horne ended his Tiger career ranked sixth in career kickoff return yardage and 16th in punt return yardage.
Bisaccia served on the coaching staff at South Carolina from 1988-1993, beginning as a graduate assistant for tight ends and receivers. He also served as a volunteer assistant coach for defensive ends. Bisaccia took over as an assistant coach in charge of running backs and special teams in 1992 and 1993. Under Bisaccia, the Gamecocks led the SEC in kickoff returns in 1992. South Carolina also had a pair of All-SEC running backs in Brandon Bennett and Rob DeBoer.
Bisaccia began his coaching career in 1983 at Wayne State College in Nebraska, coaching defensive backs and special teams. He switched to the offensive side of the ball in 1984, tutoring quarterbacks and receivers for the next four seasons (1984-1987) in Wayne State’s run-and-shoot offense.
Bisaccia, a native of Yonkers, N.Y., attended Yankton College in South Dakota from 1979-1982 and was a four-year starter at defensive back. He served as the team captain in 1982 and earned All-South Dakota Intercollegiate Conference honors in 1981 and 1982. Bisaccia was a free agent signee with the Philadelphia Stars of the USFL in 1983. He received a bachelor of science degree in physical education from Wayne State (Nebraska). Bisaccia grew up in Connecticut and graduated from New Fairfield High School in 1979.
Prior to the 2002 season, Bisaccia participated in the “Bucs on the Beach” volleyball tournament, in which all proceeds went to the Make-A-Wish Foundation and the Glazer Family Foundation. Bisaccia was also involved with the first-ever “Buccaneers Coaching Academy” in 2002. The hands-on clinic for area high school coaches focused on several essential areas of football knowledge and player development. During the 2003 and 2004 offseasons, he also lent his coaching knowledge to “NFL 101,” a program that educates women on the terminology, formations, strategy and basics of football.
Bisaccia is married to the former Jeanne Jons and the couple has four children: Michele, Elizabeth, Madeline and Richie. Jeanne has been an active member of the Buccaneers Women’s Organization, participating in the Metropolitan Ministries’ Holiday Tent, the Buccaneer Wives Holiday Fashion Show, the Fall Festival and the 2005 Buccaneers Family Cookbook.
BISACCIA AT A GLANCE
- 1979-82…Yankton College, player
- 1983…Philadelphia Stars (USFL), player
- 1983…Wayne State, Defensive Backs/Special Teams Coach
- 1984-87…Wayne State, Quarterbacks/Receivers Coach
- 1988…South Carolina, Graduate Assistant/Tight Ends and Wide Receivers
- 1989-90…South Carolina, Volunteer Assistant/Defensive Ends/Special Teams
- 1991…South Carolina, Volunteer Assistant/Tight Ends/Special Teams
- 1992-93…South Carolina, Running Backs/Special Teams Coordinator
- 1994-98…Clemson, Running Backs Coach/ Special Teams Coordinator/Recruiting Coordinator
- 1999…Mississippi, Running Backs Coach/Special Teams Coordinator
- 2000-01…Mississippi, Assistant Head Coach/Running Backs Coach/Special Teams Coordinator
- 2002-05…Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Special Teams Coach
- 2006-07…Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Special Teams Coordinator
- 2008…Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Associate Head Coach/Special Teams and Running Backs
- 2009…Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Associate Head Coach/Special Teams Coordinator
