Just had a random thought about who a potential future defensive coordinator could be for us…

What do y’all think about bringing in Al Harris to be our new DC if we move on from Joe Barry? He’s done an excellent job with those DB’s in Dallas.

I personally think it would be awesome.

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Almost anyone would be better than Barry. But Glenn Schumann from Georgia would be a great choice. Jim Leonard could do the job too

Here's another idea....objectively examine the job Barry has done this year.

Typically, he is without Alexander, Savage and Stokes, now Douglas on the back end. He has been without at least one of his starting MLB most of the time, and Rashad Gary was on a pitch count for much of the first half of the season. Yet they are about average statistically for the league.

Pretty good if you ask me.

Yes there are too big of cushions on short yardage plays. Yes we have been the fortunate recipients of opponents dropped passed.

But all things considered, the guy has done pretty damn well this year.

I know the talk will resume after the KC game, but let's keep it real.

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Yeah I think he has been better this year and unless we crap the bed down the stretch, we will probably keep him.

I just thought it was a fun idea to have Harris as our DC.

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Great points, and also times where the offense was injured and couldn't buy themselves a 1st down for a number of series and the defense kept having to go out there and got worn down.

And this defense scheme is designed to stop the big pass play, and got a ton of pass rushers, not run stoppers, and so best in shootouts or when the offense is doing well and forcing the opposite team offense to try to keep up.

Like we saw in the Lions game.

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I find it interesting that no matter who GB has had at the DC position they take flack from the fans. Going back to Dom Capers. Probably even Bob Sanders but social media wasn't as big then.

I don't know if Al Harris is the solution. He could be the greatest DB coach to ever blow a whistle but that doesn't mean he will be an effective DC. (I know you are not saying he will be gopackgo.)

I looked at the DC's that GB has had. 3 years seems to be the most common length. Capers had an unheard of 9 seasons. In 1972 Dave Hanner was hired as the first DC for GB. He was there through 1979.

I can't say who I want. Barry has been a bit of a whipping boy for the team's overall lack of success. It has been proven time and time again that he is not telling the DBs to line up so deep. They do so on their own. Yet the narrative remains that it is Barry who physically walks on to the field and drags the DBs back 10 yards. (Yes I am exaggerating.)

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I half expected a picture of a wet paper bag from the title.

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I have to agree. I know it's culture to bitch about the DC, but it seems like the guys are fighting for him still. Meaning, he hasn't lost the team. He's shown the ability to adapt and modify things. That's important. He's not saying my way or highway. Then again, maybe someone above him said adapt or it is highway lol. Either way, the defense doesn't seem like the biggest bugaboo for this Packers team.

I fully expect Andy Reid to steal Joe Barry's lunch Sunday. He's a great offensive mind. It'll be interesting to see what the Packers do vs a weak WR group with an inexperienced secondary. If we can apply pressure on QB, I think he's prone to throw some interception opportunities. I'd have the guys put in extra catching drills this week. Mahomes is so damn lucky with how many passes should be picked but get dropped. We need to captilize on them.

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Oh I absolutely agree with the fun idea part and when he was an assistant DB coach, I kept floating the idea of signing him to be a DB coach.

That being said, there is a large jump between position coach and coordinator. And I have no idea what scheme Harris would run.

I usually base interest in coordinators and head coaches off of scheme, which is why I loved the interest in LaFleaur when the Packers were last looking for a head coach.

Not that I knew a thing about LaFleaur, but I've absolutely loved Kyle Shanahan scheme for years... and the wide zone scheme has spread like a wild fire in the NFL. I don't know about currently, but at one point I believe more than 25% of the teams were running it, and I was wondering if it'd get to 33%. Though not all 25+% of them are the Shanahan version of it, but Shanahan, McVay or Kubiak verison of it, maybe with their own new spin on it like the Dolphins have, with more of a speed focus.

Same reason I like the Vic Fangio defensive scheme, though not to the 25% mark... but when the right pieces, it's a darn good scheme, that creates a lot of confusion on the back end for the QB.

Though the Vic Fangio scheme, instead of leaving CBs on an island, does the complete opposite, giving the DBs more help, and leaving the DL on an island and that DL has to be talented enough to get the job done with light boxes (short handed one guy), so they need extremely talented DL. And I'm not sure Barry has been given that to work with.

But this defense has been pretty good in 2021 and 2023 (considering the injuries/trade aways and offense holding them back).

In 2022, I don't think we'll ever know what truly happened, but I believe there was some sort of defensive rebellion from Barry. But beat writers were seemingly softly suggesting on unofficial areas like tweeter, less so in their official articles, that defensive player where unhappy and seemingly calling for Barry to be fired.

This appeared to be especially true with the DBs, which as we later found out, Barry and DB coach Gray, had some sort of disagreement or falling out, enough where Gray wanted to not return. Some suggesting that when Gray failed to get the Falcons defensive coaching job, supposedly sought his friend and Falcons head coach Arthur Smith (they worked together from (2007-08, 2011-13) how else to fit on the Falcons staff and got the Assistant head coach/defense title to get out of his issue in Green Bay.

But the Packers team has seemed like it's in the same page this year (other than trading away Douglas). And if the Packers offensive can get a lead, putting pressure on the other teams passing offense to answer, that's when the Fangio defense is at its best adding additional pressure and I think we saw that against the Lions, despite being without most of our top DBs from the start of the season.

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Yes, even when the Defense does better than the offense or special teams, it's the defense that gets blamed.

Though, I think that's an NFL thing, and especially true for teams with QB star power which the Packers have had.

So I believe NFL fans are conditioned to pick apart the defense more, as the rules favor the offenses and the NFL refs lead towards the offenses giving them more breaks, and we say where did a defensive go wrong more than where did the offense go right, as we just expect offenses to be successful. Did probably doubles for offensive lead franchises like the Packers have been.

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