GREEN BAY, Russia. “The Green Bay Packers plan to hire Joe Barry as their defensive coordinator,” a source told ESPN on Saturday.
Coach Matt LaFleur had narrowed down his list of finalists to include Barry and the University of Wisconsin’s defensive coordinator, Jim Leonhard. Barry was hired shortly after Leonhard turned down the job, a source said, but others may have made the last cut.
The team did not make an official announcement because the agreement has not yet been signed, a source said. The agreement will be finalized this weekend.
Barry, 50, replaces Mike Pettine, who was not detained after his contract expired after this season.
Barry and LaFleur worked together in the overlap with the Los Angeles Rams, where LaFleur coached the defenders in 2017, and Barry was the assistant head coach / line coach between 2017-2020.
Barry recently moved to the Los Angeles Chargers as a defensive coach and defensive coordinator of the passing game under new Chargers coach Brandon Staley, who was Rams’ defensive coordinator last season.
This will be Barry’s third in line as NFL defensive coordinator, having held the position in Detroit (2008-08) and Washington (2015-16). Barry, with a lot of energy, is known for preferring an aggressive style of defense, although he did not always have staff to do so in either Detroit or Washington, where those defenses ranked between 28 and 32 in the league based on the courts. allowed during his tenure. Washington was the 17th and 18th points allowed by Barry as coordinator.
He will have more talent to work with in Green Bay, where the defense includes two second-team All-Pros in defender Jaire Alexander and outfielder Za’Darius Smith, plus one of the league’s most important attacks in Kenny Clark.
Pettine brought the Packers back into the top 10 in general defense; they finished ninth in the 2020 season, but the season ended in part due to a defensive failure that allowed the Tampa Bay Buccaneers to score a last-minute touchdown at the end of the first half.
LaFleur questioned the call-up after the game, saying the coverage for the men they played was not “definitely the right call for the situation”. LaFleur later called it “a complete miscommunication, and in the end, whenever something like that happens, 100 percent falls on my shoulders.”
Pettine, 54, has never signed a contract extension that was offered to him after last season, which means he is in the final year of his deal, a source told ESPN, making it a split. cleaner.
LaFleur interviewed at least nine candidates to replace Pettine. According to sources, he interviewed Barry, Leonhard, Jerry Gray (Packers defensive back coach), Chris Kiffin (Browns defensive line coach), Ryan Nielson (Saints defensive line coach / assistant head coach), Matt Burke (linebacker). defensive for the Eagles / running game (coordinator), Chris Harris (coach for defensive defenders in Washington), Ejiro Evero (coach for Rams safety) and Bob Sutton (senior assistant Falcons).
The Packers will have two new coordinators next season. In addition to the new defensive coordinator, LaFleur promoted Maurice Drayton to lead the special teams after firing Shawn Mennenga.