There was plenty of blame to go around following the Green Bay Packers’ 24-22 loss to the New York Giants on Monday Night Football. Quarterback Jordan Love did not play well until the fourth quarter, Keisean Nixon‘s fumble on a punt return gave New York an easy touchdown, Anders Carlson missed a field goal, and the defense made undrafted rookie Tommy DeVito look like Michael Vick.
Some of these problems, particularly the ones regarding Love and Carlson, are not surprising given their youth. Even before the season started, head coach Matt LaFleur and his staff were blunt about the high possibility that there would be growing pains this season.
As the season as progressed, there have been said growing pains, but there have also been signs of growth from the young players, especially on offense. Where there has been little overall growth and needed adjustment has been on the defensive side of the ball.
Packers defensive coordinator Joe Barry was unpopular among fans from the moment he he was hired. Over the past three seasons, he has done little to prove those negative feelings wrong. Following the loss to the Giants, a game that ended with his defense allowing New York to march down the field with less than two minutes left, NFL analyst Mina Kimes called his scheme and the Packers’ culture into question.
NFL Analyst Mina Kimes Brutally Calls Out Green Bay Packers Defensive Coordinator Joe Barry
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NFL analyst Mina Kimes has long been on the “fire Joe Barry” bandwagon. Even before the 2023 NFL season began, she argued that Barry was, or at least should be, under more pressure to succeed than Love. She argued that Green Bay has spent so much high draft capital on defense and that their average-to-below-average play year in and year out is a sign that Barry simply is not doing a good enough job.
Kimes doubled down on that notion on Tuesday, and even so far as to question the culture in Green Bay that has allowed this kind of inept defense to continue:
Green Bay defense: WHY ARE YOU THE WAY THAT YOU ARE?
New pod with @Foxworth24: https://t.co/25po4Tj9rF
Full episode on youtube: https://t.co/4JG7MXSy91 pic.twitter.com/etbW1cdr4H
— Mina Kimes (@minakimes) December 13, 2023
“I am so sick of watching this Packers defense do the same stuff. It’s been years! I just, I don’t, and it hasn’t been just Joe Barry. It preceded Joe Barry.
“But oh my God, Joe Barry. The two things, I mean, I could single out numerous things that drive me crazy watching this defense that have been driving me crazy forever.
“I understand being taken back a little bit the first time Tommy DeVito runs zone read. How are you still being fooled by that or not accounting for that deep into the football game?
“And then that final drive. Knowing just like the situational football, you know that all they have to do is get into field goal territory. Still giving them these cushions. It’s Tommy DeVito! What are you doing?”
After Kimes’ rant, Dominque Foxworth said that he almost felt silly talking about the game because of how incomprehensible the mistakes were. He makes the argument that this is the way the defense has looked every year for the last five years, a timeframe that includes seasons prior to Barry being hired.
It is undeniable that the Packers have a ton of talent on defense. What is so aggravating is that neither Barry nor his predecessor, Mike Pettine, have been able to put these players in positions to achieve their full potential. Both Kimes and Foxworthy wonder aloud what it is about the Packers culture that has allowed this to continue for so long.
The Green Bay Packers Cannot Afford to Move Into the Future with Joe Barry
As Packers fans are well aware, Barry was not the Packers’ first choice for defensive coordinator. That would have been former Wisconsin Badgers defensive coordinator/interim head coach Jim Leonhard, who turned down the position after it was offered to him.
While it can be debated as to how good Leonhard would have been as defensive coordinator, one thing is certain: Matt LaFleur seemed to panic and hired a coach that he was familiar with. Barry and LaFleur were both coaches on Sean McVey’s Los Angeles Rams.
How else can it be explained that Barry, who had previously been the defensive coordinator for a 0-16 Detroit Lions team and a woeful Washington Commanders defense, would get another shot at being a coordinator in the NFL? Barry had been fired from each of his previous stops as defensive coordinator after just two years with each team. He is in his third season with Green Bay.
Joe Barry’s track record as DC (DVOA):
2007 Lions – 30th
2008 Lions – 31st
2015 Washington – 21st
2016 Washington – 25th
2021 Packers – 22nd
2022 Packers – 20th
2023 Packers (14 weeks) – 28th— Wendell Ferreira (@wendellfp) December 12, 2023
As seen above, there is nothing about Barry’s track record that would suggest he is a competent defensive coordinator. It is disappointing that LaFleur opted not to move on following 2022, but is not all that surprising given LaFleur’s tendency to be overly loyal to players and coaches he has a history with.
The fact of the matter is that the Packers will never win a Super Bowl with Joe Barry as their defensive coordinator. While that ultimate goal is unlikely this season and doubtful in 2024, the future beyond is promising. That being said, this culture of soft coverages and uninspired defense is not what winners are made of.
If LaFleur cannot make good personnel decisions for his coaching staff, he should not be the one with the power to hire or fire them. Barry is a good person, but he is a bad defensive coordinator. If the Packers are serious about moving forward and building a perennial winner, he cannot be involved.
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