During the 2015 and 2016 seasons, he served as Washington’s defensive coordinator. Barry’s defense was ranked 28th in yards allowed for both seasons while it was a slightly better 17th and 19th in points allowed respectively.
In Washington, Barry ran an odd front system with varied coverages. According to Pro Football Focus, he used Cover 3 just over 22 percent of the time, Cover 1 just under 20 percent of the time, Cover 2 under 10 percent of the time and Cover 4 under four percent of the time. Barry also ran a blitz rate of 28 percent which was 19th in the NFL at the time.
Barry’s most recent defensive coordinator tenure shows that he brings variety to the position, an opportunity to change the status quo in Las Vegas.
Additionally, Barry runs a 3-4 defense unlike the 4-3 defense the Raiders have run. Gruden prefers the 4-3 and we’ll see if that has any impact on the decision making.
As for his latest job, since 2017, Barry has served as the assistant head coach/linebackers coach for the Rams.
While Barry has experience in the league, his track record running defense is mediocre at best. Just like Kris Richard, he may be well suited as an assistant coach instead of the defensive coordinator.