It was a long time coming. Green Bay Packers fans had been calling for the firing of defensive coordinator Joe Barry for quite a while now, and it came as no surprise when the team finally announced their decision to part ways with the 53-year-old coach.
Despite the clamor for his ouster, however, this did not make the decision any easier for head coach Matt LaFleur, who spent three years working with his now-former DC.
Matt LaFleur Speaks Out on Green Bay Packers’ Decision to Give Joe Barry the Axe
Speaking to the press on Thursday, LaFleur openly talked about the team’s decision to part ways with Barry. The Packers shot-caller heaped praise on Barry as LaFleur expressed just how difficult it was to decide to let him go:
“You guys know how I feel about Joe Barry and I’m so thankful for our time together,” LaFleur said in his press conference (h/t Myles Simmons of PFT). “I’ve got so much respect for him as a man, as a coach, and what he was able to do for us. Those are tough decisions. But I think as the head football coach, sometimes you’ve got to make tough decisions in terms of what you think you need to do moving forward to put your team in the best possible position.”
I’m pretty sure more than a few fans out there don’t hold as much regret as LaFleur has.
Next Man Up
LaFleur then talked about the team’s decision to bring on Jeff Hafley as Barry’s successor. The former Boston College head coach wasn’t exactly a no-brainer choice for Green Bay, but LaFleur is confident that he’s the right man for the job:
“[We] just felt really good about what Jeff Hafley is going to bring to us in terms of his ability to lead, his ability to connect,” LaFleur said. “Certainly have always had respect for him from afar as a football coach. He’s worked with my brother at two different stops, he’s worked with Kyle Shanahan at two different stops — Cleveland and San Francisco. I how those guys, how much respect they have for him as a person first and a coach second. But just really excited [about] what he’s going to bring. Certainly, it will be a different scheme. But I think it’s one that will be easy to adjust to with the personnel that we have.”
It goes without saying that there’s going to be a lot of pressure on Hafley to perform as the fans expect the Packers to build on their outstanding 2023 campaign this coming season.
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