Green Bay Packers head coach Matt LaFleur can’t ignore it any longer. The time to replace Joe Barry as the Packers defensive coordinator is well overdue. The defense is littered with first-round draft choices. However, even with the influx of high-level talent, the defense continues to fail. A new voice is needed to lead the Packers defense. Today, we once again, take a look at possible candidates to replace Joe Barry.
5 Candidates to Replace Joe Barry
Who to replace Joe Barry with isn’t the only question the Packers organization faces this offseason. President Mark Murphy and general manager Brian Gutekunst have to ask themselves if they trust Matt LaFleur to hire Joe Barry’s replacement. Since taking over as the Packers head coach, LaFleur has done a terrible job hiring assistant coaches. Do the Packers truly trust him to make the right hire this time?
The hiring of Joe Barry as the defensive coordinator has been the biggest mistake of LaFleur’s coaching career with the Packers. But it isn’t the only mistake LaFleur has made when it comes to hiring an assistant. When LaFleur was named head coach before the 2019 season, he chose to keep Mike Pettine as his defensive coordinator. The decision didn’t work out well and LaFleur parted ways with the coach after the 2020 season.
Then, of course, there was LaFleur’s total botching of the special teams coordinator. First, he hired Pettine’s buddy Shawn Mennenga, who turned out not to be the answer. When he finally decided to replace Mennenga, he chose to promote Maurice Drayton. He did this even knowing that Drayton was the assistant under two failed special teams coordinators (Mennenga and former coordinator Ron Zook). Drayton’s tenure was a complete dumpster fire.
Now, LaFleur will face arguably the biggest decision in his Packers head coaching tenure. This hire might decide LaFleur’s future with the Packers, and it’s a decision that LaFleur must get right.
Ejiro Evero, Defensive Coordinator
Evero was a finalist for the Packers defensive coordinator position when LaFleur hired Joe Barry in 2021. If LaFleur isn’t kicking himself for not hiring Evero, he should be. Evero went on to serve as the Denver Broncos defensive coordinator in 2022. While Nathaniel Hackett failed with the Broncos, the same can’t be said for Evero. He led a very credible defense in his one season in Denver. He did enough to get the same position with the Carolina Panthers before this season.
With Panthers head coach Frank Reich already fired, there is a good chance that Evero will once again be in search of a new job this off-season. While the Panthers defense has had some struggles, Evero has done more with less. At only 42 years of age, and having experience calling an NFL defense, he should be at the top of LaFleur’s list.
Chris Hewitt, Pass Game Coordinator/Defensive Backs Coach
It’s a head-scratcher that Chris Hewitt hasn’t yet landed a coordinator position before now. The Baltimore Ravens have fielded some of the best defenses in the NFL and Hewitt has been a big part of that. He has been a part of the Ravens coaching staff since 2012.
Hewitt has a connection with the current Packers director-football operations Milt Hendrickson. From 2005-2018 Hendrickson spent time in the Ravens front office. He knows the type of coach Hewitt is and if Hendrickson, who is Gutekunst’s right-hand man, recommends Hewitt, it would go a long way.
Anthony Weaver, Associate Head Coach/Defensive Line
There is a reason that Anthony Weaver is the second candidate from the Ravens. The Ravens have one of the best defenses in the NFL and there is a good chance that Ravens head coach John Harbaugh will see some of his assistants leave for promotions this offseason.
Weaver, similar to Hewitt, is a former NFL player. Once his playing career concluded, Weaver jumped into coaching. He has been an assistant for five NFL teams. In 2020, Weaver was the defensive coordinator for the Houston Texans. He joined the Ravens staff in 2022 and has done a very good job with the Ravens defensive line.
Because of the Ravens defensive success this season, coordinator Mike MacDonald might be in line to land a head coaching gig. If that happens, Weaver or Hewitt might be promoted to replace MacDonald. Leaving one of them off LaFleur’s possible list.
Daniel Bullocks, Safeties Coach
When it comes to hiring assistant coaches, it all comes back to who you know and who you have connections with. For Matt LaFleur, he has a connection with San Francisco 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan. So it would be easy to connect the dots with having LaFleur look to Shanahan’s staff to replace Joe Barry.
Daniel Bullocks, another former NFL player, has worked for Shanahan in San Francisco since 2017. He started as an assistant defensive backs coach before being promoted to safeties coach, a position he currently holds. The 49ers have fielded a very good defense under Shanahan, so hiring one of his assistants makes sense. Unlike Weaver, Bullocks has never been an NFL defensive coordinator. However, Joe Barry had defensive coordinating experience and he has been a major failure. Hiring an up-and-comer might be what the Packers need on defense.
Joe Whitt Jr., Secondary Coach/Pass Game Coordinator
Joe Whitt Jr. is a familiar name to Packers fans. He was on the Packers coaching staff from 2009-2018. He coached Hall of Fame player Charles Woodson during Woodson’s tenure and Woodson has given Whitt credit for some of his success.
Whitt Jr. is another assistant who should be a candidate to be an NFL defensive coordinator. Similar to the two Ravens assistants, Whitt Jr. might earn a promotion this off-season if current Dallas Cowboys defensive coordinator Dan Quinn gets another NFL head coaching job.
(Dis)Honorable Mentions – Potential Joe Barry Replacements
There are a couple of names that didn’t make our list. The first is former University of Wisconsin defensive coordinator and current University of Illinois senior analyst Jim Leonhard. It was rumored that Leonhard was LaFleur’s top choice after the Packers parted ways with Pettine. He turned it down because of his loyalty to Wisconsin. Unfortunately, Wisconsin’s athletic director Chris McIntosh didn’t show the same loyalty when he bypassed Leonard for the Badgers head coaching position, a job he should have gotten. He is supposedly looking to be a college head coach, which might mean he isn’t interested in the Packers defensive coordinator position. If he is interested in replacing Joe Barry, he should be added to this list.
There is no reason that former Los Angeles Chargers head coach Brandon Staley should be on this list. Not only was he a massive failure as a head coach, but he called the Chargers defense this season and did a horrible job. Just because he fetched Vic Fangio’s coffee while both worked for the Los Angeles Rams does that make him a viable candidate. If LaFleur were to hire him, he should be immediately placed on the hot seat.
There is a good reason no current Packers assistant is on this list. None of the current Packers defensive assistants deserve to be on this list. If LaFleur finally grows a spine and fires Barry, he should part ways with the whole defensive staff and start over. The Packers need a new look on defense and the best way to do so would be to start from scratch.
Main Photo: Mark Hoffman – USA Today Sports
