Chris Gizzi enters his 10th season on Green Bay's coaching staff in 2023 and his fifth as strength and conditioning coordinator, having been promoted to the position on Feb. 18, 2019, by Head Coach Matt LaFleur.
Originally hired by the Packers on Feb. 7, 2014, Gizzi spent five seasons with the organization (2014-18) as a strength and conditioning assistant. Prior to coming to Green Bay, he spent the 2013 season as an assistant football strength and conditioning coach for the University of North Carolina. Before joining the Tar Heels at the start of the college football season, Gizzi served as a strength and conditioning intern with the Packers during the 2013 offseason and training camp. His first coaching experience came in 1998 when he served as a graduate assistant defensive coach at the Air Force Academy. He also served as a defensive quality control coach at Air Force in 1999.
Green Bay had 26 players play in all 17 games in 2022, tied for No. 3 in the NFL behind only Jacksonville (30) and Philadelphia (27). In his first season as strength and conditioning coordinator, the Packers had 28 players appear in all 16 regular-season games, the most in the NFL in 2019. For Green Bay, it tied the top mark posted by the team from 2000-19, matching the number of players to play in all 16 games in 2000 and 2014.
As a player, Gizzi entered the NFL as an undrafted free agent with the Denver Broncos in 1998. A 1997 graduate of the Air Force Academy, the linebacker participated in the Broncos' offseason program in '98 and '99, but spent both seasons on the reserve/military list while honoring his commitment to the United States military.
Upon completing his military duty in 2000, Gizzi returned to the Broncos and played in all four preseason contests before he was released by the team in the final roster reduction. Gizzi was acquired by the Packers off waivers on the eve of the 2000 regular season and spent time on both the 53-man roster and the practice squad during his first season with the club. The first-year linebacker played in 11 games and ranked No. 5 on the club with eight special teams tackles.
Gizzi returned to the Packers in 2001 and appeared in 12 games, making the first and only start of his career in Week 3 at Carolina. He tallied four tackles (three solo) in the 28-7 win over the Panthers and finished the season with nine tackles (six solo) before he was placed on injured reserve in Week 15.
A two-year starter and three-time letterwinner (1994, 1996-97) at Air Force, Gizzi played in 38 games for the Falcons, finishing his career with 342 tackles (155 solo), 36 tackles for a loss and 10 sacks. The standout defender earned back-to-back Western Athletic Conference Defensive Player of the Year awards in 1996-97, becoming only the second player in the Academy's history to do so. He led the WAC with 179 tackles as a senior, the third most in a season in school history. In May 2019, Gizzi was inducted into the Air Force Athletics Hall of Fame.
The 48-year-old Gizzi holds a B.S. in psychology from Air Force, an M.S. in human performance and injury prevention from California University (Pa.) and a doctorate from A.T. Still University. Gizzi is also certified as a sports performance coach by USA Weightlifting, a certified strength and conditioning specialist by the National Strength and Conditioning Association and a performance-enhancement and corrective-exercise specialist by the National Academy of Sports Medicine.
Gizzi was born March 8, 1975, in Cleveland, Ohio, and currently resides in Green Bay. He and his wife, Jennifer, have two daughters, Alice, 12, and Abigail, 8, and two sons, A.J., 10, and Atticus, 6.
