Packers coach Matt LaFleur won't fire Joe Barry, but his reason made no sense

The Green Bay Packers have had their share of defensive disasters under Joe Barry, but their performance against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in Week 15 may top the list.

Baker Mayfield became the first visiting quarterback to earn a perfect passer rating at Lambeau Field, completing 22 of 28 passes for 381 yards and four touchdowns.

It was an embarrassing effort from Barry's defense, whose soft coverages were picked apart. Chris Godwin shredded Green Bay's secondary with 10 catches for 155 yards. Tampa Bay's receivers averaged 17.3 yards per catch.

Where does this leave Barry? This is his third season as Green Bay's defensive coordinator, yet his unit continues to fall well short of expectations.

Is it time for a change? Not yet, it seems.

Matt LaFleur says it's 'not the time' for Packers to change defensive coordinator

The Packers gave up 34 points and 452 yards and stopped the Buccaneers from scoring on only two of eight possessions. Will LaFleur consider a change at defensive coordinator?

"Now's not the time for that," said LaFleur. "I'm trying to find solutions. I've got to go back and take a look at the film."

Packers fans would argue the time was about two years ago.

It's a nothing answer. LaFleur says he isn't willing to make a change but didn't exactly rule it out long-term. The "trying to find solutions" part felt like nothing more than coachspeak. How do we know the best solution isn't to switch coordinators?

The questions about Barry's future didn't end there, but LaFleur continued to bat them away.

A reporter asked a straightforward question: "Do you have any concerns that Joe Barry could be losing his guys a little bit, and is this solvable in the last three weeks of the season?"

LaFleur flat-out ignored the part about Barry.

"All I know is this: We've got three weeks left. We've got three games, and every game is a playoff mentality. Who knows what will happen?" said LaFleur. "We've got to get back to practice and give it our best shot from here on out."

LaFleur didn't answer the question about Barry and instead focused on the second part. That alone could be telling. While he made it clear it's not time to replace Barry, he didn't exactly defend him, either.

If LaFleur is considering making a change at the end of the regular season, why not do it now? There's no guarantee a move would work, and LaFleur may not have many ideal short-term replacements on the coaching staff. But why not? It can't get much worse than how this unit is currently playing.

We'll see what happens at the end of the season, but Barry isn't going anywhere just yet.

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