Green Bay Packers defensive coordinator Joe Barry couldn’t have asked for a better matchup in Week 18 as he battles for his job in 2024. If the Packers defeat the Chicago Bears on Sunday, they will advance to the playoffs.
It will be a battle between the NFL’s two most hated assistant coaches. Barry has been on the hot seat for most of the season, and the majority of Packers supporters want him out. For the most part this season, head coach Matt LaFleur has backed Barry and commended his defensive coordinator for the defensive game plan against the Minnesota Vikings on New Year’s Eve.
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In Week 18, it’s Barry vs. Getsy for the Green Bay Packers.
In Week 18, Barry will command the defense against a familiar face to Packers fans, Luke Getsy. Getsy was the Packers’ quarterbacks coach before becoming the Bears’ offensive coordinator in the offseason of 2022. In Chicago, Getsy is in the hot seat. Since the Packers game in Week 1, Bears supporters have wanted Getsy to leave.
In Week 18, both coordinators have a lot riding on their shoulders. Barry’s sole chance of returning in 2024 is for the Packers to make a deep playoff run with a strong defense. To enter the playoffs, he’ll have to stop Getsy’s playcalling with quarterback Justin Fields.
Getsy is on the hot seat with the Chicago Bears.
Getsy’s best chance of staying in Chicago is if the Bears beat the Packers on Sunday. The Bears are expected to keep head coach Matt Eberflus if his coaching staff has a successful season. Eberflus might still be fired if things go the way they did for the Bears in Week 1, when Chicago’s ownership was humiliated.
If the Bears run it back with Eberflus and Justin Fields in 2024 (rather than drafting a quarterback with the first pick), Getsy can argue that he is Fields’ best option as an offensive coordinator next season due to stability in the quarterback’s fourth year of his rookie contract. If he is not paired with Getsy next season, Fields will be on his third offensive coordinator in four seasons.
Because they coached together in 2021, Getsy and Barry are familiar with one other’s systems. On Sunday, whichever unpopular coordinator out-schemes the other could oust their former colleague.
Do you prefer Barry or Getsy?
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