Insider Predicts Prominent Packers Coach Out in Green Bay by Year’s End

Getty Head coach Matt LaFleur of the Green Bay Packers.

The variance present in the Green Bay Packers‘ 2023 equation has created one of the widest potential performance ranges in the NFL, as a young roster will attempt to scale a mountain of question marks.

As such, any projections about the team heading into the season are by definition “bold.” Bill Huber of Fan Nation’s Packer Central on Sunday, July 23, whittled down his thoughts on the Packers to 10 such predictions, including one that sees defensive coordinator Joe Barry out by the end of the campaign — if not before.

“Defensive coordinator Joe Barry perhaps should have been fired after his unit gave up a million rushing yards against the [Philadelphia] Eagles in late November,” Huber wrote. “[Head coach Matt] LaFleur stood by Barry and watched the defense almost propel them into the playoffs. However, that strong finish comes with an asterisk as big as the new Lambeau Field scoreboards.”

The asterisk Huber noted pertains to the teams Green Bay bested down the stretch, including offenses in the Chicago Bears and Los Angeles Rams that were injured and among the worst in the league in major statistical categories.

“With question marks on the defensive line and at safety, it won’t be all Barry’s fault,” Huber continued. “Regardless, three years of mediocrity will end Barry’s run and call into question LaFleur’s hiring ability.”

Packers Fielded Among Worst Rushing Defenses in NFL Last Season

GettyDefensive Coordinator Joe Barry of the Green Bay Packers.

LaFleur went to bat for Barry at the end of the Packers’ season, which saw the team fall one win shy of what would have been a borderline miraculous playoff run.

“I don’t really anticipate a whole lot, if any, staff changes at all,” LaFleur told media members on January 9. “Although it wasn’t always pretty, I did think we started to improve as the year went on. I thought we saw more of an identity. I certainly thought we played well enough to win on the defensive side of the ball.”

The Packers finished ranked 26th in the NFL against the run in terms of overall yards surrendered, per NFL.com. Green Bay allowed opposing running backs an average of five yards per carry, which tied the team for 29th in the league with the lowly Houston Texans who picked No. 2 in the 2023 draft.

The rushing defense must improve if the Packers hope to have a shot at the postseason after missing out in 2022, as the offense will run out a first-year starter in quarterback Jordan Love. Furthermore, essentially all of Love’s primary options in the passing game — at both wide receiver and tight end — are either rookies or second-year players heading into this season.

Packers’ Offseason Moves May Hurt Running Game Even More

GettyDefensive end Dean Lowry, formerly of the Green Bay Packers, will be missed along the line in 2023.

Being bad against the run is nothing new since LaFleur took the reins 2019, and the moves on which he co-signed over the offseason aren’t necessarily going to help the situation. In fact, as Huber pointed out Sunday, they may well make matters worse.

“During Matt LaFleur’s four years as coach, the Packers rank 31st in yards allowed per carry. That’s awful,” Huber wrote. “Nonetheless, losing Dean Lowry and Jarran Reed in free agency won’t be addition by subtraction. Devonte Wyatt and rookies Colby Wooden and Karl Brooks have a lot to prove as run-stopping linemen.”

Lowry left the team for the NFC North Division rival Minnesota Vikings, while Reed is now a member of the Seattle Seahawks. Neither would have cost the Packers an onerous amount to keep, as Lowry will play on a two-year, $8.5 million deal with the Vikings and Reed will earn $9 million over the next two years in Seattle.

In fairness to LaFleur and company, both Lowry and Reed are aging veterans who were part of unsuccessful run defenses in the recent past. Beyond that, Green Bay has young players it can elevate to replace them.

However, with $13.2 million in remaining salary cap space, Packers brass will take a well-deserved hit for not spending to stop the run on what is already a pricey defense that has underperformed under Barry.

It will be Barry positioned as the scapegoat should things go awry with the Packers D — particularly in the run game — but LaFleur and general manager Brain Gutekunst will have questions to answer if they can’t fix what has been a glaring hole on the line during the current regime.