How the Packers Can Set Their New Defense Up For Success

The Green Bay Packers’ defensive coordinator position has to be a popular opening. The Packers have their franchise quarterback in the building, an ascending, cheap offense, and a ton of draft capital invested into high-upside players on defense.

But fate hasn’t been kind to Green Bay’s past defensive coordinators. Fans quickly ran Dom Capers, Mike Pettine, and Joe Barry out of town thanks to inconsistent units and poor execution. Green Bay was right to move on, but it’s fair to question the handling of these coordinators and whether they were put in the best position to succeed.

As long as Green Bay’s front office continues to operate the way it has, the offense will be the belle of the ball. The Packers have min-maxxed by focusing on their quarterback and surrounding cast. But after so many years of defensive (and special teams!) collapses, it’s evident that the team needs to change its approach to defense. If the Packers want to have at least a league-average defense and play complementary football to support the offense, they need to examine their approach to the defensive side of the ball, regardless of who they hire as their next DC.

There have been two defensive coordinators in the Matt LaFleur era, and both had similar backgrounds. First, we’ll examine what didn’t work with Mike Pettine and Joe Barry.

While both men came from different defensive backgrounds, they were experienced coordinators with histories of working with different teams. Both also had “inherited” roles.

When LaFleur joined the Packers in 2019, he maintained Pettine from Mike McCarthy’s staff. Pettine offered a promising improvement over Capers’ final few seasons. His previous experience as the Cleveland Browns head coach also gave LaFleur an experienced veteran he could learn from. The logic of letting Pettine essentially be the “head coach” of the defense while LaFleur mainly focused on the offense made sense at the time.

But it became clear that Pettine couldn’t keep up with how opposing offenses were evolving, and there were frequent communication breakdowns. LaFleur let Pettine’s contract expire and hired Barry, his second choice, to lead. Barry kept most of Pettine’s staff intact. It was an odd move that indicated that the Packers had the right pieces in place; a change at the top was the only thing holding the defense back.

Barry’s results at previous stops didn’t indicate he could be the coordinator to elevate the defense to the next level. Unfortunately, he wasn’t any more successful in Green Bay. Despite promising stretches, the defense was consistently inconsistent and collapsed more often than it succeeded. Again, Barry didn’t show the ability to adapt. Communication issues persisted.

Two points are immediately clear. The new defense needs to be adaptable, and the new coordinator must build their coaching staff.

Offense dominates in the NFL, and we’re seeing more exciting young quarterbacks and pro-ready wide receivers emerge every year. The game’s rules favor the offense. A defensive scheme can only take one so far — a good coordinator must react from game to game and even from drive to drive.

The Packers could go for a young up-and-comer or prioritize experience. There are many retread options out there. Some are exciting, and some are groan-inducing. But some former head coaches who embraced their DC role and kept up with the game run the best defenses in the league. Adaptability and attitude must be the top traits the Packers seek in this cycle.