“I’ve never felt anything but that group of men, that I get to coach every single day, not coming in and giving me every single thing that they have.”
The question of who was at fault for Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Baker Mayfield posting a perfect passer rating at Lambeau Field last weekend has been the story of the week for the Green Bay Packers. Following the game, fans — who have seen far too many poor performances from the Packers’ defense under coordinator Joe Barry — cast blame on play-calling issues. Both head coach Matt LaFleur and inside linebacker De’Vondre Campbell, who has voiced his displeasure about playing through injuries in recent weeks, have both claimed that play-calling was a non-issue and that players simply did not communicate well during Sunday’s game, leading to explosive plays.
For the first time since the loss to the Buccaneers, defensive coordinator Joe Barry had an opportunity to talk to the media on Thursday. Here are some key takeaways from his press conference:
On the communication issues
There were a couple of specific issues, but there’s things in the course of a 60-plus football game. There’s insane amounts of things, from a communication standpoint, that take place on every play. I think the biggest thing is that it starts with me just getting these guys better. We were able to come in and, hopefully, correct the things that were correctable on Monday. Bounced back and had a great week of practice the last two days. But, yeah, it always starts with me #1.
On if he questioned his job security
No, because I’m a firm believer of I control the crontrolables and I control things that I can handle and I can deal with. I have no control over that.
On if he thinks he has the locker room this week
I’ve never felt anything but that group of men, that I get to coach every single day, not coming in and giving me every single thing that they have. I’ve never ever felt that for one minute.
Based on his answers to these questions and a few others in the presser, Barry came across as someone who fully understands that his back is against the wall going into the final three weeks of the season, but that he believes that he has an opportunity to stick around as the defensive coordinator next season — depending on how the rest of the year plays out. These communication issues, as everyone seems to be putting it, could be the key to whether or not LaFleur has to hire his third defensive coordinator in 2024.