Getty Head coach Matt LaFleur of the Green Bay Packers looks on against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers during the second quarter at Raymond James Stadium on October 18, 2020 in Tampa, Florida.
Matt LaFleur’s top choice to become the Packers‘ next defensive coordinator will not be relocating to Green Bay.
According to Tom Oates of the Wisconsin State Journal, LaFleur offered the job to Wisconsin defensive coordinator Jim Leonhard after interviewing him over Zoom on Tuesday and in-person on Thursday, but the 38-year-old college assistant declined the offer Friday night and decided to stay with the Badgers.
“It was me choosing UW,” Leonhard said, via Oates. “I want to stay at UW. I want to be at this level right now. Extremely flattered, awesome opportunity, but it was not the right time for me to go back to the NFL.”
After careful consideration, University of #Wisconsin defensive coordinator Jim Leonard informed #Pqckers coach Matt LaFleur Friday night that he will not accept the same position in Green Bay, according to Leonhard and his agent, Tim Valentyn of Madison. (More to come)
The Packers have been looking to fill their vacant coordinator position since Jan. 29 when they parted ways with Mike Pettine, who had led their defense for the past three seasons. After interviewing at least nine different candidates for the position throughout this week — including internal option Jerry Gray — LaFleur appeared to have narrowed down the search to Leonhard and Los Angeles Rams safeties coach Ejiro Evero.
Now, according to Tom Silverstein of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, the two frontrunners would seem to be Evero and Los Angeles Chargers defensive pass game coordinator and linebackers coach Joe Barry, both of whom have experience working with LaFleur from their 2017 season together on Sean McVay’s first Rams staff.
It’s sounding like LaFleur is leaning more toward Joe Barry than Ejiro Evero as his next defensive coordinator. The two were together with the Los Angeles Rams in ’17. Barry has experience as a coordinator in Detroit (’07-’08) and Washington (’15-’16).
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Would Joe Barry Leave Chargers So Soon?
While the Packers have missed out on hiring away one of college football’s rising stars, Barry would hardly be a bad second choice.
Barry has more than two decades of NFL coaching experience with two prior runs as a defensive coordinator — in Detroit from 2007-08 and in Washington from 2015-16. He has also spent the past four years as McVay’s assistant head coach, a partnership that only ended because Barry accepted a new position with the Chargers. Would he actually be willing to back out on L.A. less than a month after taking the job, though?
Brandon Staley, who spent 2020 as the Rams’ defensive coordinator, brought Barry along with him when he became the Chargers’ new head coach in January, but not to fill the defensive coordinator vacancy. Staley instead installed Barry as his defensive pass game coordinator and linebackers coach — a small promotion from his Rams’ role — and decided on former Denver defensive backs coach Renaldo Hill to lead his defense.
That Barry took the interview at all with the Packers suggests he could be interested in moving on before truly getting started with the Chargers. It also helps that Green Bay is a contender with some impressive defensive pieces, such as All-Pros Jaire Alexander and Za’Darius Smith. Barry may look at the Packers’ promising-but-unrefined linebackers (Krys Barnes and Kamal Martin) and decide a move to the Midwest is more fitting for his background.
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Packers’ Top Candidate Turns Down Coordinator Job: Report