He is fired by the Packers after they find out he is having an affair with a player’s wife.
GREEN BAY, Wisconsin: The easy thing, so to speak, for Green Bay Packers coach Matt LaFleur was firing defensive coordinator Joe Barry. This is when things become tricky.
locating the ideal substitute.
There’s a limit to how many coaches you can hire and fire as a coach. There’s only so many times you can assign blame. Eventually, perhaps the coaches aren’t to blame for one failure or another. Perhaps hiring them in the first place was a mistake made by the head coach.
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Despite a remarkable 56-27 record, four postseason appearances in five years, and a clear part in setting up Jordan Love for success, is LaFleur now officially out of time?
Maybe.
In 2019, LaFleur appointed Nathaniel Hackett as his offensive coordinator Shawn Mennenga was chosen as special teams coordinator, Mike Pettine was kept on as defensive coordinator. LaFleur will have brought on eight coordinators total, counting the three that he has already employed plus the person chosen to succeed Barry.
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The outcomes are not very good.
Nathaniel Hackett, LaFleur’s offensive coordinator, 2019–2021
There’s no disputing LaFleur and Hackett worked wonders with Aaron Rodgers for three seasons, even though the star of Hackett has undoubtedly dimmed after his shortened season as Denver’s head coach in 2022 and a miserable year with quarterback issues as the Jets’ offensive coordinator in 2023.
The Packers were the first team in NFL history to record three straight regular seasons of 13 or more points, and they ended sixth in the league in scoring throughout his three seasons, including first in 2020 triumphs.
Adam Stenavich: as of 2022
The promotion of an offensive line coach to coordinator was a little unconventional, and the Packers’ early performance was questionable given that they ranked 14th in scoring and 17th in overall offense in 2022 with Rodgers. Nevertheless, the young offense picked up steam in the second part of the season after a sluggish start.
Only LaFleur can determine how much of that success is attributable to Stenavich X and O’s skill and how much to her genius as a play designer and caller. It’s not a criticism of Stenavich; rather, it’s a natural inquiry for any coordinator who doesn’t make the decisions.
It’s difficult to argue against the progress this makes, regardless of who deserves the credit year.
Mike Pettine, LaFleur’s defensive coordinator, 2019–2020
LaFleur chose to stick with Pettine at the outset of his program, having hired him the year before under then-coach Mike McCarthy. Before the two teams parted ways, Pettine’s defenses under LaFleur were ninth in points allowed in 2019 and thirteenth in 2020.
Following the 2019 NFC Championship Game, in which the 49ers destroyed Green Bay’s defense for 285 running yards, LaFleur remained close to Pettine. Pettine made the decision to forego a new contract in 2020. Just before halftime of the 2020 NFC Championship Game defeat to Tampa Bay, he was a part of the erroneous call that allowed Kevin King to square up one-on-one with Scotty Miller for a crucial touchdown. That was his final game.
