ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler can confirm what many already believe: Green Bay Packers defensive coordinator Joe Barry’s position is up for grabs at the end of the 2023 season.
According to Fowler, “the heat is on” Barry, and the position of Packers defensive coordinator is “on the radar of many in the coaching industry.”
Despite the defense giving up 34 points and a perfect passer rating to Baker Mayfield in a 14-point loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Sunday at Lambeau Field, coach Matt LaFleur remained with Barry.
After facing Barry’s struggling defense over the last two weeks, Mayfield and New York Giants quarterback Tommy DeVito — who led a game-winning drive against the Packers — were awarded NFC Offensive Player of the Week.
The Packers were once 6-6 and cruising toward a probable NFC wildcard playoff spot, but a pair of stunning defeats to teams with losing records has the Packers at 6-8 and on the outside looking in with three games remaining.
According to Fowler’s assessment, Barry has three weeks to save his job. The Packers face Bryce Young and the Carolina Panthers in Week 16, a Minnesota Vikings backup quarterback in Week 17, and Justin Fields and the Chicago Bears in the season finale. Green Bay will very certainly need to win all three to make the playoffs.
Perhaps the most intriguing aspect of the report is Fowler’s observation that other coaches are keeping tabs on the situation. The Packers’ circumstances might be appealing for a defensive coordinator candidate in 2024, with good draft picks and established veterans on defense and a young, improving offense with a quarterback and playcaller in place. And if LaFleur makes the correct hires, the defense may improve fast, making the Packers a serious contender next season.
At this time, it’s unclear whether LaFleur will have to fire Barry after the 2023 season or if Barry’s contract would simply expire. Most coordinators are hired for three years, and Barry is on his third year in Green Bay. If Barry’s contract is due to expire, it’s tough to picture LaFleur and the Packers agreeing to give him a new contract to stay.
Joe Barry to be replaced by Robert Saleh.
At the end of the day, someone has to answer for the New York Jets’ offensive ineptitude. I’m sure the Jets know that Nathaniel Hackett is far more to blame for the team’s issues than Robert Saleh, but why was there no backup plan in place than Zach Wilson? The Jets’ lack of a strong backup plan appears to have lost them a prospective playoff position this season.
Saleh and Matt LaFleur are close friends, so this relationship makes a lot of sense. And Saleh understands how to mount a defense. As poor as the Jets have been this season, their defense has given them chances in games they shouldn’t have been in to begin with.
Packers fans must be hoping that the Jets’ season falls apart the rest of the way so that Saleh can come in and elevate the Green Bay defense to elite status in 2024.
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