The Green Bay Packers made it official on Monday afternoon, announcing the hiring of Joe Barry as the teams new defensive coordinator along with the promotion of Maurice Drayton to special teams coordinator.
Barry worked as an assistant coach in the NFL for 19 seasons, most recently serving as the assistant head coach/linebackers for the Los Angeles Rams. In his four seasons with the Rams (2017-20), Barry was part of a defensive staff that helped the team rank No. 2 in the league over that span in sacks (192), tied for No. 2 in takeaways (104) and interceptions (63), No. 7 in overall defense (329.9 ypg) and No. 9 in scoring defense (21.5 ppg). This past season marked the first time in franchise history that the Rams led the league in both scoring defense (18.5 ppg) and overall defense (281.9 ypg). The Rams also led the NFL in pass defense for the first time in franchise history and ranked No. 2 in the NFL in 2020 with 53.0 sacks.
Barry spent four seasons previously as a defensive coordinator (Detroit, 2007-08; Washington, 2015-16). [Read more…]