Joe Barry, the defensive coordinator for the Green Bay Packers, has announced his departure from the team.

Green Bay Packers defensive coordinator Joe Barry has been handed three seasons to transform one of the league’s most talented teams into one of the league’s best. With his team deteriorating year after year, it’s time to begin analyzing Packers defensive coordinator candidates for 2024.

Packers general manager Brian Gutekunst has put a lot of money into this defense. Some of the highest-paid players in their positions are Jaire Alexander, Kenny Clark, Rashan Gary, and De’Vondre Campbell. Meanwhile, in the last three years, Green Bay has used first-round picks on Lukas Van Ness, Quay Walker, Devonte Wyatt, and Eric Stokes. These are the outcomes.

Green Bay Packers defense stats for 2023: 22.1 points allowed per game (17th in NFL), 352.9 total yards allowed per game (23rd), 5.5 yards per play allowed (24th), 42.36% third-down conversion rate allowed (26th).
Related: 2024 NFL coaching candidates

Let’s take a look at our Packers defensive coordinator prospects for 2024.

Candidates for Green Bay Packers defensive coordinator
Illinois senior football analyst Jim Leonhard

Among Packers defensive coordinator prospects, Jim Leonhard is the popular favorite. He was the architect of one of the nation’s greatest defenses with the Wisconsin Badgers (2017-’22) and served as interim head coach for a short time. Leonhard is an excellent candidate to make the NFL in 2024 after spending the 2023 season as an analyst for Illinois.

Leonhard oversaw one of the greatest defenses in the country. It goes beyond a limited sample size. With the exception of an outlier 2018 season, Wisconsin had a top-10 defense in the country under Leonhard from 2017 to 22.

Green Bay Packers draft picks in 2024

Green Bay should hire someone like this. Matt LaFleur considered him before hiring Barry, but Leonhard turned down the chance to stay at Wisconsin. With top college coaching opportunities gone, the Packers provide him with the best road forward in his career. If the Wisconsin legend can turn around the Packers’ defense, he will go down in Wisconsin sports history as an all-time great.

Michigan Wolverines defensive coordinator Jesse Minter

When the Baltimore Ravens needed a new defensive coordinator, they turned to college football and hired the defensive coordinator of one of the top defenses in the country. Mike Macdonald is currently in charge of one of the top offensive concepts in the NFL. Jesse Minter, his replacement at Michigan, could be one of the top Packers defensive coordinator prospects.

While hiring a coach from the collegiate level can be risky, Minter has NFL experience. The Arkansas native joined the coaching staff of the Baltimore Ravens in 2017 as a defensive assistant, eventually rising to the position of defensive backs coach (2019-’20). When Macdonald left for Baltimore, Minter took over as defensive coordinator at Vanderbilt for a year.

Minter has also supervised the growth of two of Michigan’s top defensive players, cornerbacks Mike Sainristill and Will Johnson. A defensive coordinator with experience dealing with defensive backs is exactly what a squad led by Alexander, Stokes, Carrington Valentine, and Corey Ballentine requires.

Mike Zimmer, former head coach of the Minnesota Vikings

Packers fans are all too familiar with Mike Zimmer. While he didn’t always beat Aaron Rodgers, Zimmer’s defenses with the Minnesota Vikings and Cincinnati Bengals both caused problems for Green Bay’s offense. With the NFC North more competitive than ever in 2024, it would only be right for the Packers to recruit Zimmer as their defensive fixer.

While Zimmer has not been a defensive coordinator in more than a decade, he supervised top-10 units in Minnesota from 2014 to 2018. He is still recognized as one of the game’s top defensive thinkers, and he is still active in football. Joining an ascending squad with talent currently in place, Zimmer may be the ideal hire to turn things around defensively for Green Bay in 2024.

New York Jets safeties coach Marquand Manuel

Our top defensive coordinator candidates all have experience as play-callers, which should be considered during the evaluation process. Joe Barry, on the other hand, had years of defensive play-calling experience, and fans know how that turned out. If Green Bay is looking for a young player, look no further than DeMarcus Covington.

Covington, who turns 35 in March, began his coaching career as a graduate assistant at UAB in 2012. Bill Belichick noticed Covington and recruited him as a coaching assistant in 2017. He began coaching outside linebackers two years later and has now worked with the defensive line for the past two seasons. In terms of Covington’s reputation, players adore him, and many in the league believe he has the potential to become a head coach at this level.

Covington’s reputation as a teacher and his leadership skills are essential for a strong defensive coordinator. It is the capacity to teach up individual players in specific ways that is important. Of course, the outcomes are crucial. Christian Barmore has developed into one of the NFL’s best defensive tackles under Covington’s direction, and New England boasts a top-10 defense with one of the league’s best run defenses.