Fangio’s scheme helped Barry’s cause
GREEN BAY - Every NFL head coach has a network of friends and associates he has built during his climb to the top.
Some of them are like family: guys you can say anything to, argue with and have a family barbecue with all in the same day. Others are kindred football intellects, guys whose ideas lead you to places you might not have gone without them.
And then there are homeboys. These are the guys who are loyal, trustful, all-in for whatever it is you want them to do. They are also less likely to challenge you, make you reconsider your choices and tell you things you don't want to hear.
In hiring Joe Barry to replace Mike Pettine as defensive coordinator, there's reason to wonder if the Green Bay Packers coach chose the latter.
Barry, 50, has had two underwhelming performances as a coordinator, has been passed over twice in the last two years for the Los Angeles Rams coordinator position and is a good friend of
LaFleur's from their year together with the Rams in '17.
According to sources who have connections to LaFleur, the decision came down to the Packers coach wanting to run the Vic Fangio scheme that Barry was a part of last year as linebackers coach for Rams coordinator Brandon Staley.
It is the scheme Staley used in producing the NFL's No. 1-ranked defense, which in turn helped him land the Los Angeles Chargers head-coaching job after one year as a coordinator. It is the same scheme Fangio perfected during
stints in San Francisco and Chicago that earned him the Denver Broncos headcoaching position.
LaFleur interviewed nine people for his defensive coordinator vacancy, a source said, allowing him to visit with several up-and-coming defensive coaches from different backgrounds, including Wisconsin defensive coordinator Jim Leonhard.
It’s assumed that LaFleur offered the job to Leonhard and was turned down, although there are some who think they had more of an informal discussion about whether Leonhard would be interested in the job at a specific salary if offered.
Either way, Leonhard took himself out of the running Friday night.
According to one of the sources, the job then came down to Barry, Washington defensive backs coach Chris Harris and Rams safeties coach Ejiro Evero.
The question facing LaFleur was which of the three would be able to install the Fangio scheme the best. Barry and Evero had been in it only one year and Harris had not been in it at all, working mostly in the Pete Carroll Cover-3 scheme that started in Seattle.
The source said LaFleur ran all three through discussions about the Fangio scheme and Barry had the most indepth knowledge. Given he served as linebackers coach, he had been responsible for tying together the way things ran up front with the way coverage was played. His linebackers were responsible for playing the run, rushing the passer and dropping into coverage.
LaFleur was impressed with Harris and Evero, the latter of whom also coached with LaFleur on the Rams staff in ’17. Harris, who had only one year of experience as a position coach, was extremely impressive, the source said, and LaFleur thought long and hard about hiring him maybe a year or two before he was ready.
The source said LaFleur was acutely aware of how the Barry hire might look like cronyism, given he was hiring a middle-aged white coach with two failed opportunities as a coordinator over two up-and-coming Black assistants.
He was also passing over secondary coach Jerry Gray, a 58-year old, twotime defensive coordinator who is also Black.
The source said LaFleur spent a great deal of time thinking it over before picking Barry.
LaFleur has been one of the most outspoken head coaches in supporting the Black Lives Matter movement and in light of the Jacob Blake shooting Aug. 23, canceled practice and set aside time for his players and other members of the organization to engage in discussion about racial inequality.
However, it will be difficult for him to convince people this wasn’t a comfort hire, a matter of picking a buddy over picking someone deserving of their first shot in charge of a defense.
And don’t underestimate how the players will react to the hire. The failure of any Black coordinators to land a head-coaching job this offseason has not been lost on a league that is 70% Black, and it’s logical to wonder what Black players will think about another middle-aged white guy coaching the defense instead of Gray, Harris or Evero.
Barry will have to prove himself not only to the Packers’ fan base but the players. Several coaches around the league said they have always been impressed with his enthusiasm, work ethic and attention to detail and that his players play hard for him.
If you’re unfamiliar with Barry, it’s because he hasn’t been a defensive coordinator since 2016. If you are familiar with him, it’s probably for reasons he would like you to forget. In his two stints as a coordinator, he directed 32ndranked defenses in Detroit in 2007-08 and 28th-ranked defenses in Washington in 2015-16.
Barry spent his first six years in the NFL learning the Tony Dungy Tampa-2 scheme under Tampa Bay Buccaneers coordinator Monte Kiffin.
In ’06, the Lions hired Buccaneers defensive line coach Rod Marinelli to be their head coach and, the following year, Marinelli hired Barry to run the same 4-3 defense. The next two years were a disaster. The Lions were devoid of talent defensively and went 7-25, leading to the entire staff getting fired.
Barry coached linebackers again for Tampa Bay (’09), USC (’10-11) and the San Diego Chargers (’12-14) before landing the defensive coordinator position under Jay Gruden in Washington. He wasn’t much more successful. His defenses ranked 28th both years, although in scoring they were 17th and 19th, respectively.
“He should have never taken that job,” a source said of the Washington position. “Sometimes you have to wait for the right job in your next opportunity if you get one. You better make sure it’s right.”
Barry was criticized for being too passive and not blitzing enough in Washington and was fired after the ’16 season. He joined McVay in LA in ’17 and worked for two years under Wade Phillips, who runs a blitzing, 3-4 style defense. McVay fired Phillips after the ’19 season and hired Staley. When Staley left for the Chargers, McVay passed over Barry and hired former Buccaneers coach Raheem Morris, whose job it will be to keep the same system in place. Barry went with Staley to the Chargers with the understanding he might be hired elsewhere as a coordinator.
The reason LaFleur likes the Fangio/ Staley system, one source said, is the complexity of the looks it presents upfront. The Packers saw that firsthand when they played the Rams in the divisional round of the playoffs.
LaFleur’s offense dominated the Rams, but their star player, Aaron Donald, played with a rib injury and was not himself, rendering some of the fronts Staley used harmless. Under that scheme, it’s harder to know where someone like Donald will line up and thus harder to run away from him or double-team him.
In addition, the Packers had a lot of trouble getting the Rams to show what coverage they were in even with some of the motion they use to force the defense to declare it. Sometimes the Rams played man coverage out of a zone look, which made it tougher for quarterback Aaron Rodgers to determine where to go with the football.
LaFleur has said it was extremely difficult to game plan against that defense.
The Fangio scheme plays a lot with what coaches say is “vision to the football,” meaning the safeties are back and have a chance to make more plays on the ball. The Packers will probably be more consistent with their personnel on first and second down and save their nickel and dime packages for third down.
Part of what made the Pettine scheme difficult for the players was that there were so many personnel groups and different calls made that it was hard for the players to anticipate what call was coming next and settle into their assignments, a source said.
It’s likely LaFleur will spend a lot more time in the defensive meeting room this offseason trying to explain to Barry and the rest of the coaches what he wants. When the season begins, it will be Barry’s show and LaFleur will find out whether he made the right choice.
After two straight NFC championship game losses, LaFleur needs someone who can help push the Packers over the top.