The Green Bay Packers defense has been a pleasant surprise, particularly in recent weeks, but that doesn’t mean substantial adjustments aren’t on the way.
On Thursday, December 7, The Athletic’s Matt Schneidman published a mailbag in which he discussed the idea of Green Bay replacing defensive coordinator Joe Barry after the season, specifically with current New York Jets head coach Robert Saleh.
“In recent days,” Schneidman writes, “I have asked this question out loud.” “The Packers have the NFL’s ninth-best scoring defense.” This offseason, Barry has done little to help himself. However, I believe [head coach Matt] LaFleur would be attracted if his best friend and one of the top defensive coordinators in the NFL before joining the New York Jets became available.
“He has to become available for this to be a possibility, of course, and I’m not sure Saleh will lose his job because Aaron Rodgers has been hurt, despite how disappointing the Jets’ season has been.”
Packers Defense Has Risen to Challenge Against Elite QB Talent in 2023
Barry appeared to be on the hot seat for much of last season as the Packers defense struggled, particularly against the run. Those struggles have continued this year, with Green Bay giving up 200-plus yards on the ground three times. The team is also in the bottom half of the NFL at 340 yards surrendered per game, according to The Football Database.
However, ESPN’s Rob Demovsky wrote a deep dive into the Packers’ often-maligned defense on December 6 and found reasons for optimism inside the unit.
There were early indications that the Packers’ defense could keep them in games even if they couldn’t win them. Coach Matt LaFleur probably lost track of how many times he declared the defense performed enough to win in the first half of the season.
All of that meant nothing a month ago because the Packers couldn’t pair it with a productive offense. But, now that LaFleur and quarterback Jordan Love have settled into a rhythm, people are taking note of a defense that has shut down Justin Herbert, Jared Goff, and [Patrick] Mahomes in consecutive games.
However, one scout told Demovsky that there is a caveat when it comes to the Packers’ pass rush.
“They’re starting to look like some of the good defenses they’ve had in the past,” the player added. “They can get after the quarterback if they can get ahead and play with the lead.” But they must play from the start.”
Regardless of how Green Bay’s defense has performed during its three-game winning streak, any big upgrade is worth a shot if it’s available.
Saleh was the 49ers’ defensive coordinator from 2017 to 20 and led the team to a Super Bowl appearance following the 2019 season. He also helped build out the culture and philosophy for what has been one of the NFL’s top defensive units in the three years since he left for New York.
Following a 7-10 season in 2022, New York made a trade with the Packers to get Rodgers. Rodgers tore his Achilles tendon on the Jets’ opening offensive drive in Week 1 of the first year of that experiment.On Saleh’s watch, the team resorted to disappointing No. 2 choice Zach Wilson, who New York drafted, and has gone through a few other starters on its way to a 4-8 record this season.
Overall, Saleh is 15-31 as a head coach and has failed to win a game, let alone make the playoffs. Rodgers is under contract in New York for one more season, so the team may give Saleh another chance in 2024.
But if he becomes available, either this season or next, Saleh is a real option to join the Packers regardless of how Barry performs in 2023.
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