The Green Bay Packers made the shocking decision on Wednesday to fire defensive coordinator Joe Barry. Even though the defense played well in the final two weeks of the season and for most of the team’s playoff games, their performances were not enough to erase the last three years of underachievement. Now, head coach Matt LaFleur will be looking for his third defensive coordinator in six years.
Firing Barry was a move that was celebrated by the Packers’ fanbase, which had never been happy with his hiring in the first place. As many remember, Jim Leonhard, then the defensive coordinator of the Wisconsin Badgers, was offered the job, but turned it down to stay in Madison. Leonhard is now a senior analyst at Illinois.
Leonhard, of course, is a popular name among fans for who the Packers could hire to replace Barry. The situation, after all, is different. Additionally, some fans have suggested former Packers cornerback Al Harris as a potential candidate. Harris is currently the defensive backs coach for the Dallas Cowboys.
Obviously, LaFleur and company will do their due diligence and interview many qualified candidates. Indeed, it is vital to the success of this team (and maybe even LaFleur’s job) for him to get this hire right. However, it sounds like the team may not be completely done with Barry despite his firing.
Report Suggests the Green Bay Packers May Keep Joe Barry on Staff
In his insider reporting of Barry’s firing, Rob Demovsky, who covers the Packers for ESPN, shared an interesting piece of information from Adam Schefter:
“Barry could remain on the Packers’ staff in some capacity — a possibility that is being discussed, sources told ESPN’s Adam Schefter.”
The decision to fire Barry was the right one. The defense has not performed as well as a unit with eight former first round picks should. However, Barry was popular among the players, some of whom publicly advocated for him keeping his job.
Perhaps finding a different role for him on staff would not be a bad idea.
What Role Could Joe Barry Have on the Green Bay Packers Coaching Staff?
Besides being a defensive quality control coach for the San Francisco 49ers in 2000 and the defensive coordinator for the Detroit Lions (2007-2008) and Washington Commanders (2015-2016), Barry has been a successful linebackers coach. He served in this role with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers (2009), San Diego Chargers (2012-2014), and Los Angeles Rams (2017-2020).
The current Packers linebackers coach is Kirk Oliviadotti, who has been with the team since 2019. Aside from a stint as the linebackers coach at Georgia from 2011-2013, Oliviadotti’s coaching resume before coming to Green Bay consists of various roles with the Washington Commanders. During his two stints with Washington, he held the role of defensive quality control coach and assistant cornerbacks coach (2000-2003), defensive quality control coach and special teams assistant (2004-2005), special teams assistant and defensive line assistant (2006), linebackers coach (2007-2009, 2014-2018), and defensive assistant (2010).
Oliviadotti worked with both LaFleur and Barry during their own stints in Washington. However, his own work with the Packers’ linebackers has not been particularly impressive. They have struggled to stop the run during his entire tenure and, aside from De’Vondre Campbell’s All-Pro year, have not been relatively impressive (it should be noted that Oliviadotti works with the inside linebackers only).
It is possible that, depending on who the next defensive coordinator is, Barry could be retained as a linebackers coach or some kind of defensive analyst.
These jobs would suit Barry much better than defensive coordinator, and the players may still enjoy having him around.
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