Without question the most controversial, and perhaps most unpopular move Green Bay Packers coach Matt LaFleur has made this offseason was retaining Joe Barry as defensive coordinator. The vote of confidence was somewhat surprising considering the defense did not meet expectations last year, and there were several qualified replacement candidates available, including Vic Fangio, Ejiro Evero, Steve Wilks, Brian Flores and Jim Schwarz.
But LaFleur elected to bring back Barry for his third year at the helm of the defensive side of the ball. “Although it wasn’t always pretty, I did think we started to improve as the year went on, and I thought we saw more of an identity” LaFleur told the media.