One of the big parlor games of the Green Bay Packers 2023 season has been assessing how much blame defensive coordinator Joe Barry gets every time something goes wrong with the team.
NFL coordinators usually take a back seat, but this season Barry has faced frequent complaints from Packers fans, with frequent calls for coach Matt LaFleur to fire him.
LaFleur himself occasionally expressed his displeasure with the defense lieutenant. But LaFleur isn’t ready to attack Barry and shake up his coaching staff. Not yet. At least. That was the message he delivered to Barry on Monday when he met with the media to wrap up the year after Green Bay’s 27-24 playoff loss to the 49ers on Saturday night.”I wasn’t even thinking about it at this stage. I’m going through everything right now. “I want to sit down with all the assistants before I make any decisions,” LaFleur said.
Defense is a big question mark heading into the offseason for a team that beat Dallas 9-8 in the league opener. They made the playoffs and lost to the heavily favored San Francisco 49ers. The Packers have allowed 5,696 yards of offense this season, 17th in the league, and have struggled to stop the run. The Packers allowed 2,181 yards on the ground, 28th in the NFL.The team wasn’t very opportunistic either, committing 18 turnovers, just 23rd in the league.
As a result, Barry was constantly criticized in the media. He acknowledged in December that his defense allowed Buccaneers quarterback Baker Mayfield to come to Lambeau Field and throw a perfect game (158.3 quarterback rating) in a 34-20 loss. “I read what you wrote,” Barry said. “I heard what you’re saying.”So Barry should know his security isn’t that tight. But LaFleur said any decision on personnel changes will have to wait. “I know there are going to be a lot of big picture questions going forward, but we’re not there yet,” LaFleur said. “We have just started this process.
Yesterday I gave everyone a holiday. I went in and saw all three stages. But we come to the evaluation part. Brian and I don’t have much to answer for you. We haven’t met our coaches yet. This afternoon we start with the coordinators and move on to the coaching positions. “But I’m proud of this group.”
