I think you'd have to tell me what leadership decides to do next year in order to answer that question.

If Rodgers is back and it's another 'go for it' year, then I think it might be a gamble to replace the DC and start over again.

But if 12 is gone, then I'd look for someone else - just too many high draft picks on this defense to be mediocre... and I don't know if that's because they were poor draft picks or if it's Joe not getting the best out of them.

No

No, because it took until Week 17 for the right schemes, aggression, and level of intensity to show up. Last season they dripped through the second half, but came out strong in the playoff loss to SF. So why do our backs have to be against the wall for this defense to respond the right way?

Our back is still against the wall with Detroit. They have a good offensive line, won't be experiencing any center difficulties (unlike the Vikings), and have allowed only 23 sacks so far.

Easy answer. Nope.

Does anyone think that if he were fired tomorrow that another team would hire him as their DC next season? No, I think they would look at his body of work as a DC and say 'meh'.

I go back and forth on this one (I am looking at their most recent successful games).

I hope Coach Gray is retained if Coach Barry is as well.

Our D looks much better with the "11 shades of gray out there"... just sayin'

Barry needs to go. The defense, as noted in your article, looked confused and frustrated during the first half of the season. This reflects the "soft zone" nonsense that Barry continued to deploy, in spite of everyone else in Packers world calling for something different. Nope, no change, until Barry felt the chair getting warmer and warmer as the season went on. Now, he is finally, apparently against every instinct and fiber of his being, changing to make the defense more effective. Give him another year, and he'll revert to his old habits. Guaranteed. Get a DC who can actually design defenses around the strengths of the players, instead of trying to force the players to adapt to schemes that don't work, that the players know don't work, and causes the players to play with less intensity. And for goodness’s sake, spend some money on the new coach, rather than looking in the bargain-basement. Give the players someone they can respect, believe in and trust to put them in the best position to win. That isn't Barry.

Oh god, please NO! Barry has clearly shown that his fall back, comfort zone/tendency is to play soft zones and let teams gobble up yardage until/if they make a mistake. He seems to have to be forced to into change. And, as in this season, he has made changes so late that GB may miss the playoffs.

At a presser early in the year, he proudly stated that his defense "shouldn't" have to make significant changes weekly to accommodate the team they were playing? Really? That's what EVERY good DC should doing every week! But not good old Joe Dingle Barry.

Lets face it - a tiger cannot change its stripes. Not that I am comparing Barry to a tiger whatsoever. And while this defense has played MUCH better recently, it seems to only be under pressure that Barry has made changes whether it be from MLF, Alexander, or whoever. Change is the one constant in our universe that is required for survival and it is not natural to Barry. Just like the dinosaur, Barry should not survive in this role. GPG

no, he's a better position coach than coordinator , that's just how it is for some people.

I'm on the fence now.
I say the next game should be the deciding factor.
It's said you're only good as your next win.
If I was a player. I'd vote yes.
If I was MLF. I'd vote yes.
As a stockholder.- I'd abstain. Change hurts.
Are we ready for more changes? I hope not.

We should look to replace him if there is a proven candidate. With the roster this Defense has they played way below expectations all season. They are playing better at this point but his inability to adjust and scheme is a negative.

I dont swear on this site because we do have the ladies to consider so I wont use my Navy language. To the question of bringing back Joe ,hasnt a clue Barry, back I would say. " Thus F______ing piece __f _____t shouldnt be in charge of a kids rail road set. Where the F____ did they ever find this total l_____r. I know he used to work with the packers but he had no F_____ing defensive coaching abilities but you can bet your ______t ____s he came dam cheap.
I firmly beleive the new scheme is not his and he was over ruled and Basacia and LeFluer put this scheme together because f_______g Jo
has no clue.

to bring Joe Barry back mmmmmmmmmm? that's a easy question NO if they do go on and beat the lions he should go (if not he should go) as the old saying goes to little to late

I copied the article into MSWord to get an actual word count. Answer - 800 words in the article.

This is exactly 799 too damn many words to answer the headline question. NO

GPG!

No. Next article.

Gil, haven't we seen that Packer management will not make personnel and coaching changes unless the replaceable person either gets injured or screws up a playoff game? Since Barry isn't going to get injured, we are going to see if he reverts to his soft play defense during our playoff season (which we are in). The last 8 or so minutes of our dominating game, Barry gave up 2 easy TDs with his super soft coverage of WRs. Hmmmm...is this is this a portend of future coaching? I hope not.

Gil, haven't we seen that Packer management will not make personnel and coaching changes unless the replaceable person either gets injured or screws up a playoff game? Since Barry isn't going to get injured, we are going to see if he reverts to his soft play defense during our playoff season (which we are in). The last 8 or so minutes of our dominating game, Barry gave up 2 easy TDs with his super soft coverage of WRs. Hmmmm...is this is this a portend of future coaching? I hope not.

If we are still playing at the end of the month then we will probably have a completely different perspective.

McCarthy was able to recycle his trash, so…

Fire Barry and people would be complaining about the next guy as soon as a DB gets burned. Sure, the D could do some things better, but the Packers need improvement on the offense more.

I am not a Barry fan but given the cards and the early season injuries, he has managed as well as can be expected. Going back to Pettine and Dom Capers the defense has suffered from lack of talent and poor drafting. The chronically weak D-line has sabotaged every season and this year was no exception. Add the injuries to Gary, Campbell and Stokes and you have the perfect storm. Despite the lack of depth he had the balls to bench Savage and rattle the secondary.

People seem to forget that up until last year we didn't have a linebacker that could start on most rosters. When we run into a good O-line and this defense can't get off the field everyone will blame Barry because we can't compete in the trenches and the next DC will inherit the leaky foundation for this house. Fire Joe Barry but expect the same up and down results until we draft better football players.

Joe has been given a death sentence; he has a noose around his neck yet his hands are not tied. In the next game(s) to close out '22-'23, he will either carry on the definition of insanity (soft zone is how you earn the respect of cowards), or, find the strength to climb up that hanging rope, straddle the gallow's beam, and proceed to saw that rope, thread by thread, on the beam using his neck until it breaks free...that's the kind of grit that earns respect.

He's a charismatic 11 life path, born in a DOG year with his enemy year, the DRAGON, arriving Feb 10th 2024, the day prior to next year's Super Bowl February 11th. I personally don't want him back for this reason, but fate cements its own path and in his case, he may be retained another year and take that fall on football's biggest stage.

For the balance of this year, given the youth's inexperience, I can accept a loss in the Super Bowl.
Any shortcomings in the NFC realm = pink slip.

I'm not sold on him but then I had issues with both Capers and Pettine too. That's one for the Packer brass to make an informed decision on. I don't see the value in a fan poll.

There's an interesting article over at 247 sports claiming Barry has drastically changed his play calling approach since the bye. Much more cover 2 and cover 6, and less blitzing.

I'm disappointed it took saving his job to try something different, but at least he's trying. I personally would move on from him after this year, but my suspicion is he'll stick around if the D finishes out the year how they've played the last few games

Well, if you're a big Leatherhead fan (and I am) you've seen all the suh-tis-ticks and you realize the Packers have an average defense. Said defense has held opponents to scores that, if there was even a semi-potent offense sharing the load, should have resulted in wins. We had OL woes, We had a busted QB. Our WRs got dinged.

Watching Barry's soft zone D drives me crazy. Seeing the communication struggles of the DBs late into the season has been infuriating. Then, along came the humiliation of the Vikings, and, damn, it was an effective salve. Right now, the grass ain't greener, the wine ain't sweeter either side of the hill (nod to Robert Hunter) cuz we're riding with Joe until we aren't. CW is correct, too. Perspective will change with a deep playoff run.

Teams should always be looking to improve. Someone should be churning the bottom of the coaching roster, too.

The consensus amongst posters before me is a no.

To those people I pose the question - if the Packers lose this week (or next) and it's clearly due to defensive deficiencies (making the firing justifiable), then whom do you suggest?

For me, as mentioned above, I'm still on the fence. Barry is getting more out of the D, and most importantly, they are responding.

Over the coming weeks I'll be keen to see how Barry and the Packers address defending against good TE play. While other areas of the D seem to be coming together, this is one glaring area that remains poor. If Barry can solve this without sacrificing the other emerging areas, then he will go some way to proving that he can effectively adapt and is worthy of staying.

Ha—I wouldn’t follow him across the street.

The defense, and it's coordinator, are not at the top of the list of needed improvements.

Bolstering the offensive line. Replacing some people who will have to leave for salary cap reasons. That's important.

But quite a bit of our defense is coming back, and it should be at least an average defense again next year. The irony of this is that other than SF, none of the other playoff teams in the NFC are any better than the Packers on the defensive side of the ball.

The Packers have spent a lot of draft capital on defensive players. Since 2012 they have spent their first round selection on a defensive player except for the year they drafted Jordan Love.

I would think the defense should be better than we have seen and perhaps the fault lies with a General Manager who hasn't performed well or it may be our defensive coaches who have dropped the ball.

All things considered, I am going to point my finger at Barry and just think the Packers can do better than him. Barry struck out twice previously and perhaps a lot of it could have been a lack of better players. However, considering the top draft choices the Packers have devoted to the defense, I will say that lack of available talent should not be the problem.

Answer is NO. Not because of schemes or anything connected with that issue. Lot of teams in NFL plays zone D and play it well.

As for offense, where plays and execution starts with OL, the same is for D. DL is ultimate factor of good D. What I saw is that DL whole season plays in 3 DLs, 2 OLBs and 1 or two ILBs or, in most passing situations 2 DLs, 2 OLBs and 1 or 2 ILBs. And in both formation there was nothing different from game to game. No last second change of positions, no change in players who plays on DL, rarely changing starters with potent young DLiners (Slaton, Wyatt, Ford).

Only injury forced Joe Barry to change starter(s) and mix some DL players position from snap to snap.

It does not sounds good for coach (who should be leader) to have situation when players has to tell him to make changes. He should see that by himself.

Will Mark Murphy push MLF to change DC? I doubt. He just extended them all at the beginning of this season.

What I would like to see is (no matter how this season ends - w/o play off or SB win): COMPLETE OVERHAUL IN COACHING STAFF. I will offer (for same salary) MLF to stay as OC, Joe Barry to take over ILB/LB position coach job, Stenavich to go back to OL position coach, hire new HC, and if they do not find any outside of organization, offer HC job to Rich Bisaccia and let him find the replacement for his position of STC and new DC.

I know that those are my wet dreams and Packers will chane nothing.

Jim Leonhard. It wasn't until a few games ago---even though his players had been asking for more man coverage---the Barry finally gave in and look at the results.

Do I need to repeat: Jim Leonhard? Leonhard was schooled in the Rex(and dad Buddy) Ryan's approach to defense: be aggressive. They have the personnel to do it. Barry's approach minimizes the talent on that side of the ball.

Leonhard played in the league for many years and is skilled in preparing to defend against some great opponents. It wasn't the defense that led Wisconsin backwards, it was the offense.

The Barry experiment needs to end. Bring on Jim Leonhard!

This is a very talented D...I mean some really good football players.

If Barry was "convinced" during the bye week to change the soft zone scheme he stubbornly demanded until then, great!

If he was "convinced" to use his talented team to uniquely attack the next opponent's weaknesses, also great.

Imagine what this Defense might be with a DC who does this every game?

The D is playing well in spite of Barry. After season the goal should be to improve the team...including the coaches.

With all the talent on the D, the Pack would be a very attractive destination for top notch DC candidates.

The D has played better the last game and a half, but this doesn’t excuse the first 16 games. Unless we make the playoffs and go deep, I say look to upgrade the DC.

Is he getting smarter this offseason?

We all have our own vision of what a "good" or "elite" defense is. IMO, in order,

1) It's on the sideline
2) It doesn't give up many points and keeps the game close
3.) It gets turnovers.

IMO, objectively, we're pretty good at the top 3 things I'd look for. Of course things have gone wrong, because that's t he nature of the game, but all in all, I've seen worse, a lot worse. The guy who came up with that "historically bad" description of our defense this year needs to find a paper bag and sit down a minute.

As the season has progressed, we've lost Stokes, Gary, and Lowry. That's 3 of our Top 10 defenders, including one of our best. We've played some very good offensive teams. We've had mistakes, we've made bad plays, but at the end of the day (I love that expression), this group has played a lot of good defense this year. And most of them are going to be back, and we can add a guy in the draft. This could be a really good group. Let's not make any hasty decisions.

I would say let's see how the season ends. It's easy to call for someone's head when their unit is underperforming mid-season but real Packer fans should know that we don't just replace people the second they're not meeting expectations like teams with consecutive losing seasons and owners who want results RIGHT NOW do. I seem to remember everyone saying what a good hire Barry turned out to be in his first season with the Pack.

Don't get me wrong, I'm as flummoxed as the rest of you with the corners playing 13 yards off of the receivers. If management looks at that and says after the season that he's got to go, I'm fine with that. If his unit performs well, we win against the Lions... I won't go any further than that but as Pantz_Burp says, let's let Vanna flip the letters before we call out the word.

Jim Leonard becomes available and Barry starts calling better games. Coincidence?

The defense that plays sunday wont be jo barrys. IMO LeFluer met with his coaches and they put together this new man cover d and not that silly lets play back zone and prevent touch downs

My goodness there are some people that have a very very short memory.

The real question is , if the Packers lay an egg against Detroit… should MLF be back?

It took Barry a full season and 16 more games to figure out what the strengths are of each D player and what is the best combination of performers. It took him way more time than just random chance to realize our DBs playing aggressive man defense is the way to stop the opponent's pass game . Look up Peter Principle in the dictionary. Joe Barry's picture will be next to the definition. Unfortunately, the Head Cheerleader is not far behind Dingle... he will keep him for another season.

First step to improvement is what we saw last weekend. Gang tackling and aggressive play. It's like the packers D finally got enough practice to learn tackling the past two weeks.

I think this team must have some record like the most first downs given up after long down yardage. I mean who is confident in a punt when you see "1st and 25", 3rd and 15,..."? On the long 3rd down in the vikings game (Where Walker slammed the guy to ground for roughing penalty), the D lined up and stayed 1 yard behind the 1st down marker. The WR just had to catch it in front of the D and automatic first down. I would walk him out of the building right there.

As far as I am concerned this man is a total disappointment. If he was a first time DC - I could give him some sort of break. But there are several things that really bother me about him. First off he has done this job and been fired before - having been a DC in Detroit and Washington. So he should have learned something. Now people wonder why he isnt better - and why he got his first job - guess what - his father in law was the Head Coach - Rod Marinelli . Marinelli was a pretty good DC with Dallas but as a head coach he and his son in law were 0-16.

So I would say this - if he stones the Lions and if his D plays well in the first playoff game expect him back and maybe just maybe he deserves that break. My big issue with him is the lack of discipline with his players - undisciplined penalties usually kill a team and there have been too many. There is no I in team and some of his guys are just too undisciplined at times.

Can he be trusted? Has he adjusted? Will this last?
I love what the defense is doing and the talent is finally rising but how many games did it take to change Barry’s approach? Remains to be seen.

To be determined...

Joe Barry should've already been fired, but if we win Sunday night, win throughout the playoffs, and eventually bring Lombardi Trophy home, IDK how you can fire him.

It's really rather simple: If we win out, he'll stay. If we don't, he won't.

Long story short ----- No

He absolutely should not return. Barry has been completely incapable of adjusting his defensive schemes to opposing offenses, the same soft defense week in and week out, until the last two weeks! That's nearly two full seasons of little understanding of the strength of your personnel, and stubbornly adhering to a defensive plan that doesn't work very well. It seems like the adjustments have been despite him, not because of him. Defensive players have voiced their disdain to the scheme. Everyone is stepping up beyond what's expected because Barry can't do his job. But hey, he's a pal of the HC, he could easily have job security for as long as LaFleur does. There's too much talent on the defense to be utilized in such a soft scheme.

Absolutely Barry should be back. Why the obsession with scapegoating him in the first place? How do the haters know the communication issues weren't due to the players forgetting the game plan? The lack of turnovers the first 12 games was because the DB's kept dropping Int's instead of catching them. How is it Barry's fault when he schemed the players to the right place but they have butterfingers? Even with the players taking 13 weeks to catch up to Barry his defense had not given up more than 30 pts in a game except for 1. Cripes even the '85 Bears allowed 30+ twice! Now that the players are up to speed they're the best defense in the NFL and you're pitching about the DC. Pull your heads out people!

When you see something wrong, you don't wait until the bye week to make changes. Amazing that it wasn't too late to save the season but no, I've seen enough of the soft pass coverage. Next please.

Unless the Packers ride their defense to the Super Bowl, there's no way Barry should be back next season. This wasn't even a question until the second half of the Dolphins game in Week 16. He's at best a mediocre DC, so unless that's good enough for LaFleur, he should be replaced. I'd love to see what Jim Leonhard could do with this talent.

Badgers just finished their season so Leonard's free now..