Bear Digest

Joe Barry's Departure Good News in Chicago

Fired coordinator's Green Bay defenses dominated the Bears, and he's always had great success at beating them.
Gene Chamberlain|
Joe Barry's Departure Good News in Chicago
Joe Barry's Departure Good News in Chicago

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Chicago Bears

If the Bears know what's good for them, they'll hurry and sign Joe Barry to a contract to do something on defense.

They have a defensive coordinator position open at the moment but it doesn't have to be for this role—just as long as it keeps him from being on the opponent's sideline or in the coach's box come game day.

Maybe it would be advisor to the advisor of the consultant's assistant, but they need him under contract.

The Green Bay Packers fired Barry and his departure, like with anything else happening within the NFC North, can impact everyone in the division. When your team plays the other one twice a year, every year, moves of this type matter.

Barry's Packers defenses beat the Bears six straight times. Sure, Aaron Rodgers was there in four of those. Aaron Rodgers didn't make tackles or cover anyone.

Barry was Packers defensive coordinator from 2021-23.

The Bears scored more than 20 points against the Packers once in those six games. They averaged only 17 points for the six games. Teams don't usually win games in today's NFL if they average 17 points. The teams in the NFL this year who didn't average more than 17 were the Jets, Patriots, Giants and Panthers. There weren't a lot of wins between that group, just 29.

The 17-9 Bears defeat at Lambeau Field to finish this season was the closest they came to beating the Packers with Barry as defensive coordinator.

If this ended here, it might be easy to chalk it up to Justin Fields because he was Bears quarterback for all six games. Or maybe you could blame it simply on an inept Bears offense, although it was two different Bears offensive coordinators and head coaches.

However, Barry was the Washington Redskins defensive coordinator in 2015 and 2016 and they beat the Bears in both of those seasons.

So he has an eight-game personal winning streak over the Bears, against three different coaches.

Barry also was defensive coordinator in Detroit two seasons and the only time he ever lost to the Bears came during the two matchups during the 2008 season. But it would have been a little much to ask a Barry team to beat the Bears that year. They didn't beat anyone that year.

In the previous season, however, the Bears were coming off a Super Bowl appearance and the Lions beat the Bears twice with Barry in his first season as a defensive coordinator.

Barry's performance may have merited his firing. That was up to Matt LaFleur to decide.

He'll have to make a great hire to come up with one who has had a better record against the Bears.

Twitter: BearDigest@BearsOnMaven

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Gene Chamberlain
GENE CHAMBERLAIN

Gene Chamberlain has covered the Chicago Bears full time as a beat writer since 1994 and prior to this on a part-time basis for 10 years. He covered the Bears as a beat writer for Suburban Chicago Newspapers, the Daily Southtown, Copley News Service and has been a contributor for the Daily Herald, the Associated Press, Bear Report, CBS Sports.com and The Sporting News. He also has worked a prep sports writer for Tribune Newspapers and Sun-Times newspapers.

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