Jordan Love's future and 2 other big decisions that will impact Packers in 2024
Will the Packers fire Joe Barry?
Matt LaFleur should've made a defensive coordinator change last offseason but remained committed to Joe Barry. Will he finally move on?
Barry's defense has again fallen well below expectations. If we don't include the Packers' victory over the Los Angeles Rams with backup quarterback Brett Rypien, Barry's unit would rank last in the NFL in defensive DVOA.
Packers fans have been looking for a way to say they have the worst defense in the league, so here goes.
— Aaron Schatz 🏈 (@ASchatzNFL) December 27, 2023
Take out the Brett Rypien Week 9 game and look at weighted DVOA (more strength to recent games) and the Packers fall to 32nd in defensive DVOA, past ARI and WAS.
And that feels about right. At their best, Barry's defense has been able to bend without breaking. But when it breaks, even backup quarterbacks can look like Hall-of-Famers.
If LaFleur does move on, he faces an even bigger question of who replaces Barry. LaFleur fired Mike Pettine after his first season, but his hiring of Barry didn't work out. He will need to get this one right.
But that's assuming LaFleur does actually fire Barry. He hasn't yet. Even when the Packers' defense hit rock-bottom in the loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, LaFleur stuck by his defensive coordinator. What if Green Bay finishes the season with two solid defensive performances against the Vikings and Bears? Would LaFleur consider keeping Barry for another year?
Whichever way LaFleur goes, the performance of the 2024 Packers defense falls on him. He needs to ensure this unit bounces back.