De'Vondre Campbell trashes Joe Barry in long Twitter thread after Packers exit

De'Vondre Campbell had a lot to say following his Green Bay Packers departure.

Campbell is coming off a frustrating season. He missed six games due to injury, struggled for consistency, and played nowhere near the level he reached during his All-Pro year in 2021. It wasn't just Campbell, either. The entire defense fell below expectations under former defensive coordinator Joe Barry.

It was clear something wasn't right defensively, even if players wouldn't publicly criticize the scheme. Well, Campbell is no longer a Packers player, having signed a one-year deal with the San Francisco 49ers, allowing him to open up about his frustrations.

Campbell's recent social media posts about Barry and the coaching staff were fascinating.

De'Vondre Campbell sheds light on Packers' struggles under Joe Barry

Campbell didn't hold back on X (formerly Twitter) following comments that he was "misused" in Green Bay. He cleared the air by saying he never took a shot at the Packers organization, but rather, it's some of the coaches he "lost ALL respect for."

It seems one of those coaches is former defensive coordinator Joe Barry. From the outside, Barry received plenty of heat from fans for his soft coverages and conservative scheme. Players were often seen trying to communicate moments before the snap. There was constant confusion and players out of position.

Despite that, Campbell earned first-team All-Pro honors in 2021, his first season with the Packers. He believes it resulted from not doing everything Barry wanted him to do, noting that he "would've been outta the league by now" had he followed his plans more closely.

Campbell went a step further, saying that he never would've become a first-team All-Pro had he not pushed back on what the Packers wanted him to do in the defensive system. He said they had him and Quay Walker "out there looking clueless."

That was evident just watching the game without knowing what the players were asked to do. The game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers stands out. Campbell regularly had to cover wide receiver Chris Godwin. Barry never adjusted, and the Bucs kept taking advantage of the matchup.

Following the game, Campbell tweeted that he wouldn't be "going out my way anymore."

The Packers did improve defensively from Week 17. They held the Minnesota Vikings and Chicago Bears to a combined 19 points. In the wild-card round, the Dallas Cowboys barely scored a touchdown on the final drive of the second quarter, their only first-half points. Green Bay had forced two turnovers.

Following the loss to Tampa Bay, head coach Matt LaFleur said he would be more involved with the defense, and we saw a more aggressive approach in the weeks that followed.

Campbell shed some light on why things improved.

I mean, it's hard to argue with that. The Packers were more aggressive, which was obvious, even from a fan's perspective. It came after LaFleur's comments about being more involved, so it makes sense that Campbell also voiced his opinion to the head coach.

And what happened in the offseason? LaFleur fired Barry and replaced him with Jeff Hafley, who is known for playing an aggressive defense.

We all knew things were bad under Barry. Campbell provided some insight into just how bad it was.

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