Packers Defensive Coordinator Joe Barry Knows He’s on Hot Seat
GREEN BAY, Wis. – This has not been a good couple weeks for Green Bay Packers defensive coordinator Joe Barry.
On or off the field.
First, Barry’s defense had no answers for Giants quarterback Tommy DeVito, who went from undrafted rookie to national sensation over the course of 3 hours. Next, he made the Buccaneers’ Baker Mayfield look like Tom Brady.
With a two-game losing streak, the Packers’ playoff chances are on thin ice.
And so is Barry’s job’s security.
“Well, losing sucks. Always,” Barry said on Thursday, the upcoming game against Carolina taking a back seat to the fate of the embattled coordinator. “This week, in particular, was hard. It was hard on me, hard on my family.”
He’s looking for answers to right a sinking ship, not sympathy.
“This is the National Football League,” he continued. “This is what you sign up for. We had a bad game. I have to be better for our guys, completely, and I put that on me all the time. Anytime we don’t go play well, it’s on me. But, yeah, this week was, in particular, hard, to be honest with you.”
With his defense ranking 18th in points after flirting with the top 10 for several weeks, and having plummeted to 24th in yards per play, 28th in rushing per play, 23rd in passing per play and 25th on third down, Barry admitted he’s heard the speculation that his three-year run as defensive coordinator could be over in three games.
“I read what you guys write. I hear what you guys say,” he said. “But, again, that’s the great thing about our league. It is the top of the top, the best of the best. When we sign up for this, we know what that’s what we’re getting into. That’s the thing I love about this league. That’s the thing I love about the sport. It’s the highest level of competition at every level with every position.”
Mayfield, who was identical 14-of-29 passing the previous two games, was 22-of-28 for 381 yards and four touchdowns, good for only the second perfect-rating game against the Packers in franchise history. The journeyman quarterback, who’s gone from the No. 1 overall pick in the draft to on his fourth team in three years, destroyed Barry’s favored zone defense for 20-of-24 for 361 yards and three touchdowns, according to Zebra Spots’ Next Gen Stats.
Why?
“I would be totally lying to you if it wasn’t the Mike Evans factor,” Barry said of Tampa Bay’s 6-foot-5 receiver, who has topped 1,000 receiving yards in each of his 10 seasons.
Barry’s goal was to stop Evans and the Bucs’ running game. Aside from Evans’ 19-yard touchdown in the second quarter and Rachaad White’s 22-yard run in the closing moments, that mission was accomplished.
“Unfortunately,” Barry said, “we did nothing else well.”
Meanwhile, in the 14th game of the season, his defense was riddled with communicator errors.
Why?
“You would think at this point things would be running smoothly,” Barry said. “But there’s so many subtle nuances that have to take place on every single play with all 11 players. But that’s part of my title as the coordinator — to get it coordinated. And when it doesn’t go right, it is on me and it’s my job to get it done.”
Maybe it’s too late for Barry to save his job. And maybe it’s too late for the Packers to save their season. But if the Packers can beat the Panthers, Vikings and Bears to end the season, just like they beat the Chargers, Lions and Chiefs at midseason, then their playoff chances are quite strong.
Do the defensive players have Barry’s back?
“You know what? I’ve never felt anything but that group of men that I get to coach every single day not coming in and giving me every single thing that they have,” Barry said. “I’ve never, ever felt that for 1 minute.
“Sunday did not go well, but at no point during the game or, obviously, Sunday night going back and watching it, have I ever questioned any of our guys’ desire or our heart or the play style that they play with. That’s something that I demand – that we demand – every single day is the play style that we go out and practice with and play with. I’ve never seen anything to question that from our group of guys.”
