Green Bay Packers Defensive Coordinator Hire Wasn't Met With Joy

The Green Bay Packers finished in the NFC championship for the second season in a row. They're obviously close to finally reaching a Super Bowl. One would think messing with their formula too much would be a dangerous risk. Yet that is exactly what happened when they chose to let defensive coordinator Mike Pettine walk. A curious decision considering the Packers defense had its best finish (9th) since 2010. Now head coach Matt Lafleur had his first major decision to make. Where would he pinpoint a replacement? Remember he wasn't the one who hired Pettine. That was Mike McCarthy in 2018. The Packers made a run at Wisconsin defensive coordinator Jim Leonhard but he turned the offer down. So Lafleur went with somebody more familiar. The being Los Angeles Rams assistant head coach and linebackers coach Joe Barry.

A move that has drawn some pretty mixed reactions.

Barry is 50-years old and has been in the NFL since way back in 2000. He was the linebackers coach for the great Tampa Bay Buccaneers defenses of the early 2000s and again with the San Diego Chargers between 2011 and 2014. This led to two different opportunities as a defensive coordinator. First in Detroit between 2007 and 2008 and again in Washington from 2015 to 2016. The results were...less than ideal. His Lions defense ranked 32nd in both yards and points allowed his two seasons there. Then in Washington, it wasn't much better, finishing 28th in total defense back-to-back years. The most persistent feature was how routinely his defenses struggled against the pass, failing to finish better than 25th in any of those seasons. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8yqvgqriivQ&ab_channel=RuslanKuleshov

Green Bay Packers better hope they got this one right

On the surface, it certainly doesn't look like they upgraded. Barry has lots of experience but so did Pettine and Pettine was far more proven. It's feeling more and more like his firing was a scapegoating for what happened in the NFC championship game. Specifically, that rough TD given up before the end of the first half. Barry meanwhile has done good work in L.A. but he certainly benefitted from the presence of coordinators Wade Phillips and Brandon Staley. It's worth pointing out the Green Bay Packers will be $32 million over the salary cap this offseason. So it's possible they may have to make some tough cuts on their roster to find space. Especially with guys like Jaire Alexander and Davante Adams in need of extensions. Maybe Barry has learned some valuable lessons and will do better less pressure on him courtesy of having Aaron Rodgers on the other side of the ball.

Then again it's hard to imagine he'll be that much different.

Green Bay is taking a gamble here. Lafleur knows Barry and believes he's what the defense needs. At the same time, their window to get this right is closing. Rodgers turns 38 this year. They've missed two crucial opportunities to reach the Super Bowl. There are only so many a team gets. It wouldn't be a surprise if people come back to this hire as the crucial decision that either ended the Packers' run or put them over the top.