Nearly four weeks after his hiring, Gus Malzahn is now two coaching additions away from completing his first Auburn staff.
Thursday, the Tigers announced that Malzahn has hired Rich Bisaccia to serve as his running backs coach and special teams coordinator. Bisaccia will also carry the title of assistant head coach.
“Rich is widely regarded as the one of the top special teams coaches in all of football and has coached several elite running backs, so we’re thrilled to have him join our staff,” said Malzahn in a statement. “Rich’s resume speaks for itself. He has been a part of some outstanding teams, including a Super Bowl Champion in Tampa Bay. He has coached several running backs and special teams players that were among the very best in the game at both the collegiate and professional level.”
Bisaccia spent the past 11 seasons at the NFL level, including the last two years with the San Diego Chargers as well as a nine-year stint with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
Prior to that, he spent time on collegiate coaching staffs at, among others, Ole Miss (1999-2001), Clemson (1994-98) and South Carolina (1988-93).
“This is a tremendous opportunity for me to return to the college game at a program like Auburn,” Bisaccia said. “I have an incredible amount of respect for Auburn and Coach Malzahn. I met Gus in the spring of 2010 and have followed his cutting edge offense and what he’s accomplished as a coach since he started coaching in college. He’s a man of character and I had previously worked with Ellis Johnson and Charlie Harbison, so I knew the type of staff that Gus was putting together. I’m excited and ready to help Auburn return to a championship caliber team.”