GREEN BAY, Wisconsin – The Green Bay Packers are planning to hire Joe Barry as a defensive coordinator, a source told ESPN on Saturday.
Coach Matt LaFleur narrowed his list of finalists to include Barry and University of Wisconsin defensive coordinator Jim Leonhard. Barry was hired shortly after Leonhard refused the job, a source said, but it was possible for others to make the final cut.
The team did not make a formal announcement because the deal has not yet been signed, a source said. The deal is expected to close this weekend.
Barry, 50, replaces Mike Pettine, who was not hired after his contract expired this season.
Barry and LaFleur worked together during their overlapping time with the Los Angeles Rams, where LaFleur coached defenders in 2017 and Barry was the assistant coach / linebacker coach for 2017-2020.
Barry recently joined the Los Angeles Chargers as a linebacker coach and defensive passing game coordinator under new Chargers coach Brandon Staley, who was the defensive coordinator for the Rams last season.
This will be Barry’s third time as a defensive coordinator for the NFL, having served in Detroit (2007-08) and Washington (2015-16). The energetic Barry is known for preferring an aggressive defense style, although he does not always have the staff to do so in Detroit or Washington, where these defenses ranked between 28th and 32nd in the league based on the yards allowed during his terms. Washington ranked 17th and 18th in points allowed under Barry as coordinator.
He will have more talent to work in Green Bay, where the defense includes two second-team All-Pros in cornerback Jaire Alexander and outside linebacker Za’Darius Smith, as well as one of the league’s top defensive tackles, Kenny Clark.
Pettine put the Packers back in the top 10 in general defense; they were in ninth place during the 2020 season, but the season ended in part because of a defensive collapse that allowed the Tampa Bay Buccaneers to score a touchdown in the last second at the end of the first half.
LaFleur questioned the game call after the game, saying that the coverage of the man they played “was definitely not the right call for the situation.” LaFleur later called this “total communication failure and, ultimately, whenever something like this happens, 100 percent falls directly on my shoulders.”
Pettine, 54, never signed a contract extension that was offered to him after last season, which means he was in the last year of his business, a source told ESPN, making the separation cleaner.
LaFleur interviewed at least nine candidates to replace Pettine. According to sources, he interviewed Barry, Leonhard, Jerry Gray (defensive back coach for the Packers), Chris Kiffin (defensive line coach for the Browns), Ryan Nielson (defensive line coach for the Saints / assistant coach), Matt Burke ( defensive line of the Eagles / racing game coordinator), Chris Harris (Washington defense coach), Ejiro Evero (Rams security coach) and Bob Sutton (senior Falcons assistant).
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.