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Wausau, Green Bay Joe Barry was fired as Green Bay Packers defensive coordinator despite his defense holding up adequately enough to enable the team advance to the NFC divisional round of the playoffs.

Three days after Packers coach Matt LaFleur declined to comment on Barry’s employment position and said he was “going to go through the process at my own pace,” the team announced on Wednesday that Barry will be let go.

A statement was released by the team in which LaFleur expressed gratitude to Joe for his dedication and the ways in which he had contributed to their recent achievement. “Joe is one of the finest men I’ve had the pleasure of working with in this league, and these decisions are incredibly difficult.”

Sources close to the matter informed ESPN’s Adam Schefter that there is talk of Barry perhaps remaining with the Packers in a different capacity.

After choosing someone to succeed Barry—who had a year left on his contract—LaFleur will become just the third defensive coordinator in the last six seasons. In 2021, upon Mike Pettine’s dismissal, Barry assumed the role of defensive coordinator for the Packers.

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Barry appeared to be in a precarious position as early as the 2022 season, when the Packers’ total defense dropped from eighth to seventeenth. Even though they finished the season ranked 17th overall, the Packers’ defense allowed less points than any other team in the NFL.

When Barry was in charge, Green Bay’s run defense was a major issue. In 2021, the Packers placed eleventh, and in 2023, they dropped from twenty-sixth to thirty-eighth in the NFL against the run. They allowed four different teams to gain over 200 yards on the ground in 2023.

Perhaps Barry’s breaking point came in Week 15, when the Packers lost 34-20 at Lambeau Field to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers despite Baker Mayfield’s 381 yards passing and four touchdowns.

After that loss, the Packers’ record dropped to 6-8, and they were in a tie for the last playoff spot; however, LaFleur announced at the time that he would not be replacing his defensive coach during the season.

In Week 16, the Packers defeated the lowly Carolina Panthers, who had a season-high 30 points and 394 yards of offense, but then their defense made another mistake.

It appeared, though, that Barry had the defense working by the season’s end. Even after the 49ers’ 24-21 playoff loss, LaFleur continued to heap accolades on the defense, describing them as “fantastic.” The Packers will “kind of go through and figure out how we can be a little bit more consistent,” according to LaFleur, who was softer in the days after the season.

Reportedly the preferred choice was Jim Leonhard, a former defensive coordinator at Wisconsin who chose to stay at his alma mater before hiring Barry. The 2017 Los Angeles Rams season saw Barry and LaFleur team up. Barry was a part of the coaching staff for the Rams at the time, and it happened when Brandon Staley instituted a defense similar to Vic Fangio’s. The reason LaFleur hired Barry was so he could run a comparable business in Green Bay.