The Green Bay Packers are going to have a much different culture this year, specifically on the defense. While there were some significant player personnel changes on the offensive side of the ball (the departures of David Bakhtiari and Aaron Jones), there has been more changes regarding coaching on the defensive side of the ball.
Former defensive coordinator Joe Barry was fired after the season ended. His departure led to those of other defensive coaches, including defensive line coach Jerry Montgomery, who was the longest-tenured coach on the team.
New defensive coordinator Jeff Hafley, the former head coach at Boston College, has been saying all the right things since being hired, promising a more aggressive defense and more emphasis on dominant front seven play.
This is good news for Packers players and fans, who are hoping to avoid the catastrophe that was the defensive locker room last season.
Green Bay Packers Defensive Players Were Divided on Joe Barry
Packers fans made no secret that they were not on board with the Barry hire from the moment it was announced. Former Wisconsin Badgers defensive coordinator and interim head coach Jim Leonhard had been offered the job, but turned it down. At the time, Packers fans wanted Ejiro Evero, who is now the defensive coordinator of the Carolina Panthers, instead.
Last season, fans and media members alike were tough on Barry after almost every Packers game, even the ones they won. That is why, late in the season, fans were shocked when edge rusher Preston Smith said the following:
“Joe B’s been dialing it up. He gets a lot of hell in the media. But we’ve come together. We play for Joe B.”
Clearly, however, Smith was not speaking for everyone on the defense. Star cornerback Jaire Alexander had issues with team leadership all year. He was eventually suspended one game by the team for his antics during the coin toss against Carolina.
Former Packers linebacker De’Vondre Campbell, too, was pretty outspoken about his frustration. At one point, he posted on social media that he no long would play through injuries, instead focusing on himself and getting his body right.
Today, the former All-Pro posted another statement on X (formerly Twitter) that confirms what many believed about his relationship with Barry.
Former Green Bay Packers Linebacker De’Vondre Campbell Calls Out Team for Making Him Lose His Love for Football
Dan Powers/USA TODAY NETWORK-Wisconsin.
Earlier this offseason, the Packers decided to release former All-Pro linebacker De’Vondre Campbell to save money on the salary cap. However, there may have been more to their parting of ways than just money. As it turns out, Campbell was very disgruntled by the end of his time in Green Bay, as he shared today on social media:
“I can’t even lie I’m having so much fun playing football again… The situation I was in was making me lose my love for the game but I’m back having fun again and I love that for myself. Thank you God.”
Campbell signed with the San Francisco 49ers this offseason and is, obviously, attending OTA’s with them right now.
Questions Regarding Former Green Bay Packers Linebacker De’Vondre Campbell’s Claim
While Campbell’s disdain for Barry and the scheme last year is understandable, it should be noted that he did sign a five-year $50 million contract in 2022. If things were so bad, why did he sign the contract?
It is also worth noting that Campbell became an All-Pro playing in Barry’s system. Now, he has since said he played most of that season based on instinct instead of thinking about the playbook too much. Once he started to get into the playbook and trying to play to the scheme, that is when he feels his on-field production started to decline.
But again, why sign the contract if the defense wasn’t a good fit for him as a player?
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