Packers’ Defensive Coordinator Joe Barry Wasn’t Surprised He Kept His Job

The question was direct and unwavering.

So was the answer.

Green Bay Packers defensive coordinator Joe Barry was asked Tuesday if there was ever a time in 2022 he doubted he’s be back in 2023.

“No,” Barry said.

He might have been the only one.

Green Bay, with an NFL-high seven first round draft choices on its defense last season, had remarkably high expectations for that unit. They failed to deliver, though, and Barry’s inability to get the most of that group made him public enemy No. 1 to much of Packer Nation.

Green Bay finished 17^th in total defense and 17^th in scoring defense last year. And the mediocre play of the defense was a huge reason the Packers went 8-9 and missed the postseason for the first time since 2018.

“Consistency. I think that was probably the most disappointing thing,” Barry said of his 2022 unit. “And you guys have been around me for three years now. I’m not a big rear-view-mirror guy. I want to look forward. I want to look through the windshield at what’s ahead.

“But I think if you do go back and really critique last year, the inconsistencies were the things that really got us. We played well at times. We didn’t play well at times. And that’s what you can’t do in this league.”

The Packers were undergoing major changes in their passing game last year and needed the defense to shine — especially early. Wideouts Davante Adams (traded) and Marquez Valdes-Scantling (free agency) had departed, and former quarterback Aaron Rodgers was slow getting in sync with the newcomers.

Instead, a veteran defense littered with first round draft picks failed to find its groove for more than three months.

After 13 weeks, the Packers ranked 30^th in rushing defense, 18^th in total defense and were allowing 23.2 points a game. Over the final four games, Green Bay allowed 17.3 points per game and improved its standing against the run to 26^th and in total defense to 17^th.

The Packers needed more, though as the offense tried figuring things out early in the year.

“We’ve got to show up and play our best version of football, our best version of defense, and we can’t be up one week and down the next,” Barry said. “We’ve got to find that consistency and show up every single week. The last five or six weeks of the season, we found that. We don’t have time to waste 10 weeks.”

Green Bay returns those seven first round draft picks on defense this fall. And the Packers added No. 8 — outside linebacker Lukas Van Ness — in April’s draft.

Many wonder, though, if Barry can deliver the goods.

Barry was a defensive coordinator in Detroit in 2007-08 and in Washington in 2015-16, where things went remarkably bad.

Detroit ranked dead last in yards and points in both of Barry’s seasons running the defense.

In 2015, Washington ranked 28^th in yards (380.6) and 17^th in points (23.7). Then in 2016, Washington was once again 28^th in yards (377.9) and 19^th in points allowed (23.9).

With Barry in charge, the Packers ranked ninth in total defense in 2021 before falling to 17^th last year. Green Bay also slipped from 14^th in scoring defense in 2021 to 17^th in 2022.

Packers head coach Matt LaFleur put his neck on the line bringing back Barry for a third season. Time will tell if the move pays dividends, or could eventually cost both men their jobs.

“This is the greatest thing about not only the National Football league, but being at the Green Bay Packers: expectations are high all the time, no matter what,” Barry said. “I’m very aware of our roster. I’m very aware of the draft status of all of our players. But expectations are and should be high all the time and this year will be no different.

“There’s absolutely no doubt about that. The expectation thing, that’s the great thing about having this word (Packers) on our chest is that we’re Green Bay Packers and the expectations at this place are high all the time and that’s great.”

Whether or not Barry can get his defense to be great remains to be seen.