Matt LaFleur makes it clear he thought Joe Barry was a problem for Packers

Recently, the Green Bay Packers introduced former Boston College head coach Jeff Hafley as their new defensive coordinator. It ended the three-year stay of Joe Barry with the organization.

“There’s a lot of thought and deliberation that goes into that,” explained Green Bay head coach Matt LaFleur (via Michael David Smith of Pro Football Talk). “You guys know how I feel about Joe Barry. I’m so thankful for our time together. I’ve got so much respect for him as a man and as a coach, and what he was able to do for us.

“Those are tough decisions, but I think as a head football coach, sometimes you’ve got to make some tough decisions in terms of what you think you need to do moving forward to put your team in the best possible position.”

Matt LaFleur makes it clear Joe Barry was part of Packers problem

Consistency would seem to be the Packers’ biggest issue on defense. In Barry’s first season with the franchise in 2021 (after four years with Sean McVay’s Rams from 2017-20), the club gave up the ninth-fewest yards in the league and was a respectable 11th vs. the run. However, this unit also managed to give up a disappointing 44 offensive touchdowns – 31 through the air.

Despite a playoff appearance, there weren’t a lot of big plays from this unit. Green Bay forced a total of 20 turnovers in 19 overall outings. Strangely enough, the Pack picked off only nine passes all season, two of those in the playoff win at Dallas. That was the only game in which the team came up with multiple interceptions.

These past two seasons, stopping the run once again became a problem, giving up 139.5 and 123.8 yards per game on the ground, respectively. It should be noted that Barry’s unit held its final four regular-season opponent to fewer than 100 yards on the ground. Still, the overall body of work over three seasons was somewhat disappointing.

Is Hafley the answer? That’s a question that won’t be answered for some time.