BRAKING NEWS: The formal bay top player is back and….
The announcement on Wednesday by the Green Bay Packers that defensive coordinator Joe Barry will not be returning for the 2024 campaign made headlines.
Barry has been the coordinator since 2021 and has received a lot of criticism for his work, so it was somewhat expected that he would be fired on Monday. However, head coach Matt LaFleur refused to discuss specifics after the Packers’ NFC Divisional Round loss to the San Francisco 49ers just two days prior.
The Packers may try to bring in former Wisconsin Badgers head coach Jim Leonhard, who was entertained for the job in 2021, now that Barry is out of the picture.
The Athletic reports that LaFleur considered Leonhard as his top option during that cycle, but he ultimately decided to stay at Wisconsin as the team’s defensive coordinator. As a result, the head coach decided to select Barry over other worthy candidates, such as Ejiro Evero, who has emerged as one of the NFL’s best coordinators in recent years.
Leonhard and the Packers might now work together as the former head coach of the Badgers is currently a senior defensive analyst with the Illinois Fighting Illini. Over the previous two cycles, he has been considered for multiple defensive coordinator positions in both the NFL and college.
Will Leonhard play for another team in Wisconsin when he returns? Or would the Packers take a different approach to occupy their just opened