Green Bay Packers defensive coordinator Joe Barry couldn’t have asked for a more perfect matchup in Week 18 as he fights to save his job for the 2024 season. The Packers will make the playoffs if they defeat the Chicago Bears on Sunday.
It’ll be a contest featuring the NFL’s two most unpopular assistant coaches. Barry has been on the hot seat all season, and most Packers fans want him gone. Head coach Matt LaFleur has defended Barry for most of this season and credited his defensive coordinator for the defensive game plan against the Minnesota Vikings on New Year’s Eve.
Green Bay Packers: It’s Barry Vs. Getsy in Week 18
Barry will call the defense in Week 18 against a familiar name to Packers fans, Luke Getsy. Getsy was the Packers’ quarterbacks coach before joining the Bears as their offensive coordinator in the 2022 offseason. Getsy is on the hot seat in Chicago. Bears fans have wanted Getsy out since the Packers game in Week 1.
Both coordinators have much at stake in Week 18. Barry’s only hope of returning in 2024 is for the Packers to make a deep playoff run with the defense playing at a high level. He’ll have to stop Getsy’s playcalling with quarterback Justin Fields to make the playoffs.
Getsy is on the Chicago Bears hot seat
Getsy’s best shot to stay in Chicago is for the Bears to upset the Packers on Sunday. The Bears reportedly will retain head coach Matt Eberflus if his coaching staff finishes the season strong. One would assume Eberflus could still get canned if things go the Bears as they did in Week 1 when Chicago’s ownership was embarrassed.
If the Bears run it back with Eberflus and Justin Fields in 2024 (instead of drafting a quarterback with the number one pick in 2024), Getsy can make the argument that he’s Fields’ best option as an offensive coordinator next season because of stability in the quarterback’s fourth year of his rookie contract. Fields would be on his third offensive coordinator in four seasons if he’s not paired with Getsy next year.
Getsy and Barry are familiar with each other’s system as they coached together in 2021. Whichever unpopular coordinator can out-scheme the other on Sunday could knock their former colleague out of a job.
Is your money on Barry or Getsy?
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