Why the Green Bay Packers opted to keep Joe Barry for another season after fans and pundits alike were calling for his dismissal following the 2022 campaign, I do not know. All I do know is that Barry remains on the coaching staff, and will likely not be let go until after the season.

Firing any coordinator in Week 15 is a death sentence for that unit in its own right. Barry’s scheme would likely remain, but he wouldn’t be around to call the defensive plays. Yes, that sounds like a disaster waiting to happen, as FanSided’s Mike Phillips pointed out on Sunday:

“While keeping Barry now isn’t going to be popular, LaFleur is correct to believe that changing coordinators this late in the season isn’t going to make a major difference. The players simply haven’t gotten the job done and changing who is calling defensive plays isn’t going to magically make the team’s defense play like a Top-10 unit,” Phillips wrote.

Phillips also referenced the Pittsburgh Steelers — a team in similar standing to the Packers — who fired their offensive coordinator a few weeks ago and haven’t seen much improvement. Changing schemes, or even tinkering too much with it, midseason can be a mistake.

After the season, LaFleur can reassess what went wrong with Green Bay’s defense in 2023. Perhaps then Barry will finally be let go, and if he is there are expected to be some big-name DC candidates available on the open market.

Packers Joe Barry replacements: Green Bay could hire Ron Rivera

With the Washington Commanders well out of playoff contention, head coach Ron Rivera could be fired any day now. Owner Josh Harris will want to bring in his own head coach, which is understandable and his right given this coaching staff hasn’t made a serious playoff run in quite some time.

Rivera is well respected around the league and a veteran voice in the locker room. He has a defensive background, and coached one of the best units in football in both Chicago and San Diego in the mid-2000’s. From there, Rivera had a successful tenure as the Carolina Panthers head coach, and was eventually hired by the Commanders for the same role.

While Rivera may no longer be the up-and-coming head coaching candidate that he once was, a return to the assistant ranks could do him some good. Rivera still spends a lot of time coaching his defense in Washington and had similar success in Carolina. With the talent Green Bay possesses in the pass rush and secondary, Rivera should be able to step right in and improve.