GREEN BAY, Wis. The Green Bay Packers plan to appoint Joe Barry as defense coordinator, a source told ESPN on Saturday.
Coach Matt LaFleur narrowed down his list of finalists to include Barry and University of Wisconsin defense coordinator Jim Leonhard. Barry was appointed shortly after Leonhard turned down the job, a source said, but it was possible others cut the last time.
The team did not make a formal announcement because the deal has not yet been signed. The deal is expected to be finalized this weekend.
Barry, 50, replaces Mike Pettine, who was not retained after his contract expired after this season.
Barry and LaFleur collaborated with the Los Angeles Rams during their overlapping time, where LaFleur coached quarters in 2017 and Barry was the assistant coach / linebacker coach from 2017-2020.
Barry recently went to the Los Angeles Chargers as coach of the linebackers and coordinator of the defensive game under the new Chargers coach, Brandon Staley, who was the Rams’ defense coordinator last season.
This is Barry’s third inning as an NFL defense coordinator, having held positions in Detroit (2007-08) and Washington (2015-16). The high-energy Barry is known for preferring an aggressive defensive style, although he did not always have the staff to do so in Detroit or Washington, where the defense was between 28 and 32 in the league based on the yards which during his right of abode. Washington was 17th and 18th in points allowed under Barry as coordinator.
He will have more talent to work with in Green Bay, where the defense includes two All-Pros from the second team in the corner Jaire Alexander and Za’Darius Smith from the outline, plus one of the league’s leading defenses in Kenny Clark .
Pettine got the Packers back in the top 10 in the overall defense; they were ninth in the 2020 season, but the season ended in part due to a defensive split that allowed the Tampa Bay Buccaneers to score one last second at the end of the first half.
LaFleur questioned the game call after the game, saying the male coverage they played was “definitely not the right call for the situation.” LaFleur later called it a ‘flat-out wrong communication and eventually, whenever something like this happens, the 100 percent squarely falls on my shoulders.’
Pettine, 54, never signed an extension of the contract offered to him after last season, meaning he was in the final year of his contract, ESPN said.
LaFleur fielded at least nine candidates to replace Pettine. According to sources, he interviewed Barry, Leonhard, Jerry Gray (Packers ‘defensive coach), Chris Kiffin (Browns’ defensive coach), Ryan Nielson (Saints defensive coach / assistant coach), Matt Burke (Eagles defensive line / running game coordinator), Chris Harris (Washington’s defensive back coach), Ejiro Evero (Rams safety coach) and Bob Sutton (Falcons’ senior assistant).
The Packers have two new coordinators next season. In addition to the new defense coordinator, LaFleur promoted Maurice Drayton to manage the special teams after firing Shawn Mennenga.