The Green Bay Packers surprised everyone when they made a run to the Divisional Round of the playoffs. They defeated the Dallas Cowboys during Super Wild Card Weekend, 48-32 before falling to the San Francisco 49ers in a hard-fought game, 24-21.
Despite exceeding expectations the team isn’t resting on its laurels. Wanting to take that next step and become legitimate contenders in the NFC, they knew some changes had to be made this offseason. And, those changes are under way already.
The biggest change to this point has come on their coaching staff. On Wednesday morning it was announced that defensive coordinator Joe Barry will not be returning to the Packers as they are going to make a change. Tom Pelissero of NFL Network shared the news on X, formerly Twitter.
This is a move that Packers fans have been waiting a few weeks for. Barry came under fire numerous time throughout the regular season for the scheme that he was using, especially late in games.
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Against the New York Giants in Week 14 on Monday Night Football, Jordan Love led the team down the field for a go-ahead touchdown. With under two minutes remaining, the Packers’ defense needed to make one stop against undrafted rookie free agent Tommy DeVito.
Green Bay had played solidly on defense up until that point, but for whatever reason, Barry opted to play a safe, almost preventive defense. Only needing a field goal to win the game, DeVito drove the Giants right down the field for the game-winning field goal.
In the next game, against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, the Packers’ playoff hopes were delivered a tough blow when they lost 34-20 as Baker Mayfield has the best performance for a visiting player at Lambeau Field in the history of Green Bay’s home field. The team was able to overcome those setbacks, but a change was certainly needed on defense.
There is too much talent on that unit to continue having middling success. Barry was unable to get the most out of the players he had, which included eight first-round picks, and he has been relieved of his duties as a result.
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