Former Packers Defensive Coordinator Joe Barry Hired by Dolphins

GREEN BAY, Wis. – It didn’t take long for former Green Bay Packers defensive coordinator Joe Barry to land on his feet. According to NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero, Barry will be the Miami Dolphins’ linebackers coach and defensive run-game coordinator.

Packers coach Matt LaFleur opted to replace Barry after the season-ending loss to the San Francisco 49ers and replaced him with former Boston College coach Jeff Hafley. In Miami, Barry will be replacing Anthony Campanile, who was up for the New York Giants defensive coordinator job and, oddly enough, is considered a candidate to replace Hafley at Boston College.

During Barry’s three years in Green Bay, the Packers ranked 30th with 4.7 yards allowed per carry and 26th with 125.6 rushing yards allowed per game. The Packers in 2023 allowed a league-worst four games of 200-plus rushing yards.

However, that was with Barry the defensive coordinator. As linebackers coach with the Rams in 2000, they ranked third in rushing yards allowed per game and per attempt.

Barry was Green Bay’s defensive coordinator from 2021 through 2023. His defenses ranked 13th in points and ninth in yards in 2021, 17th in points and 17th in yards in 2022, and 10th in points and 17th in yards in 2023. The top-10 finish in points in 2023 was the team’s second since winning the Super Bowl.

The temperature on the hot seat soared after the Packers were crushed by Baker Mayfield and the Buccaneers and barely managed to beat the inept Carolina Panthers in December. However, the defense recovered down the stretch – just like it did in 2022.

The Packers allowed 10 points at Minnesota and nine points against Chicago to get into the playoffs, then dominated the first half of the playoff rout of Dallas.

“That’s the gauntlet of an NFL football season,” Barry said a few days later. “I say it, especially to a lot of young coaches. If you’re in this thing long enough, you’re going to experience the highest of highs and, unfortunately, you’re going to experience the lowest of lows. That’s part of when you sign up for the National Football League. That’s part of the deal.”

In the divisional-round loss at San Francisco, the Packers led 7-6 at halftime and 21-14 through three quarters before losing 24-21. As was the case too often under Barry, when it absolutely, positively was time to get a stop, his defense turned conservative. With a trip to the NFC Championship Game on the line, Brock Purdy directed a 12-play, 69-yard touchdown drive.

The Packers have a new defensive coordinator in Hafley and a new defensive line coach, as well. Among the vacancies on the new staff are position coaches for the linebackers and cornerbacks.

Here’s Hafley’s Inside-the-Box Plan to Stop Run