Green Bay Packers Defensive Coordinator Tracker

Green Bay Packers coach Matt LaFleur has interviewed at least six people to replace Joe Barry as defensive coordinator. Here’s what you need to know.

GREEN BAY, Wis. – Green Bay Packers coach Matt LaFleur’s methodical search for a defensive coordinator to replace Joe Barry continues. To date, he’s interviewed at least six candidates – potentially more – in hopes of landing the defensive mind capable of building a championship defense.

Here’s what we know about the known candidates.

Brandon Staley

Current job: Was fired as head coach of the Los Angeles Chargers in December. His three-year record was 24-24. The Chargers went 10-7 and reached the playoffs in 2022 – they blew a 27-0 lead at Jacksonville – but were 5-9 when he was fired in 2023.

Scheme: Vic Fangio-style 3-4, so he’d be tweaking what the Packers ran with Barry the last three seasons but not blowing it up. That might hold some appeal for LaFleur in hopes of hitting the ground running with a fresh spin on a familiar approach.

Will he blitz: The Chargers had the eighth-highest blitz rate (31.5 percent), according to Pro Football Reference. The Packers, by the way, were 10th at 29.3 percent.

What’s to like: Staley has been a defensive coordinator for just one season. With the Rams in 2020, they finished first in points allowed, first against the pass and third against the run. He was the defensive play-caller for the Chargers for all three seasons, as well.

What’s not to like: As coach of the Chargers, his defenses were terrible. They finished 29th in points in 2021, 21st in 2022 and 24th in 2023. During his tenure, they were 28th in points allowed, 31st with 4.7 yards allowed per carry and 25th with an opponent passer rating of 92.7. In his final game, the Chargers lost 63-21 to the Raiders, who had been shut out a week earlier.

For more on Staley: Click here.

Aden Durde

Current job: Defensive line coach, Dallas Cowboys.

Scheme: Durde has spent most of his coaching career joined at the hip of former Atlanta Falcons coach and current Dallas Cowboys defensive coordinator Dan Quinn. Quinn runs a 4-3 scheme. Late in the season, the Cowboys ranked fourth in man-coverage percentage. It was an interesting switch for Quinn, who had been a zone-based coordinator.

Will he blitz: The Cowboys under Quinn in 2023 ranked 13th with a blitz rate of 28.5 percent. During Quinn’s final season as Atlanta’s coach in 2019, the Falcons were 22nd in blitz percentage.

What’s to like: The Cowboys’ defensive line was really good, though it certainly helps to have Micah Parsons and Demarcus Lawrence to attack the passer. Driven by that unit, Dallas finished fifth in points allowed and total defense. Colleagues, including Quinn, laud the English-born Durde’s ability to teach.

What’s not to like: You never quite know what you’re going to get by hiring a position coach. That’s not good or bad; it’s just reality. Durde has only four years as a position coach under his belt, and his unit was overrun by the Packers in the playoffs. The Cowboys’ run defense was mediocre the past three years.

For more on Durde: Click here.

Bobby Babich

Current job: Take Babich off the list. The Bills promoted him to defensive coordinator on Tuesday.

Scheme: The Bills under coach Sean McDermott operate out of a 4-3. McDermott served as defensive coordinator in 2023.

Will he blitz: The Bills ranked 18th with a blitz rate of 23.5 percent in 2023.

What’s to like: Babich is a football lifer; his father was a longtime coach and they worked together in Buffalo for several seasons. He has a big-picture view of the defense, having gone from assistant defensive backs coach in 2017 to safeties coach in 2018 to linebackers coach the past two seasons. His unit thrived despite losing Tremaine Edmunds in free agency and Matt Milano to a torn ACL. Said McDermott: “I think when you evaluate a coach, are you taking what you have and making it better? It doesn’t need to get any more complex than that, and Bobby’s done that.”

What’s not to like: Nothing – other than he’s no longer an option.

Dennard Wilson

Current job: Baltimore Ravens defensive backs coach in 2023 and defensive backs coach and defensive passing game coordinator for the Philadelphia Eagles in 2021 and 2022.

Scheme: Most of his background has come with 3-4 systems, including with the Ravens in 2023 and the New York Jets from 2017 through 2020. His two years in Philadelphia, however, were under 4-3 schemer Jonathan Gannon.

Will he blitz: The Ravens ranked 25th with a 21.9 percent blitz rate in 2023. The Eagles in 2022 were 18th at 22.1 percent.

What’s to like: Wherever he’s gone, defenses had success. This year’s Ravens became the first team in NFL history to lead the league in points allowed, sacks and takeaways. A key to that was ranking first in opponent passer rating and yards per attempt and fifth in completion percentage. In 2022, the Eagles reached the Super Bowl as the defense ranked first in yards per attempt and fifth in rating.

What’s not to like: Gannon became head coach of the Cardinals after the 2022 season. Wilson was considered to replace him as defensive coordinator but was passed over for Sean Desai, who was fired after one season. That’s about it, though. With more than a decade as an assistant coach of top units, his time is here.

For more on Wilson: Click here.

Zach Orr

Current job: Orr spent the last two seasons as inside linebackers coach for the Baltimore Ravens.

Scheme: The Ravens under esteemed coordinator Mike Macdonald operate out of 3-4. In 2021, he coached the outside linebackers for the Jaguars, who also ran a 3-4.

Will he blitz: The Ravens were in the bottom half of the league in blitz percentage in each of his two seasons as a position coach. During his final season as an NFL player, on the other hand, he ranked 16th among off-the-ball linebackers in number of blitzes, according to Pro Football Focus, so he might bring a different approach.

What’s to like: Orr was a linebacker for the Ravens from 2014 through 2016 – the former undrafted free agent was second-team All-Pro in 2016 but had to retire due to a medical condition. He has that same studious, fiery approach as a coach. Baltimore’s defense perennially is one of the best in the NFL. That’s the expectation. The Packers need that expectation. The ability to maximize the talents of Quay Walker should be appealing to LaFleur.

What’s not to like: It’s obviously helpful to be working with the likes of Roquan Smith and Patrick Queen. Orr was part of an elite defense, and every member of that staff is being considered for some sort of upward career move. Can every coach really be that good, or is it some sort of high-tide-raises-all-boats? That is what LaFleur must determine.

For more on Orr: Click here.

Christian Parker

Current job: Parker has been the defensive backs coach for the Denver Broncos the past three seasons.

Scheme: Parker was hired in 2021 by the new coach, Vic Fangio, the renowned defensive mind whose 3-4 scheme has been mimicked by numerous teams, including by Barry in Green Bay. Fangio was fired after the season and replaced by Nathaniel Hackett, who hired Ejiro Evero as defensive coordinator. Evero also is a Fangio-scheme coordinator. In 2023, new defensive coordinator Vance Joseph retained Parker and stuck with a 3-4.

Will he blitz: The Broncos’ blitz rankings: 15th in 2021, fourth in 2022 and fifth in 2023.

What’s to like: Parker is only 32 but he’s seen a lot in working with Fangio, Evero and Joseph. Those are three highly regarded defensive coaches to soak up the knowledge. “He’s a star,” Joseph said. In today’s NFL, you better be able to stop the pass. Parker’s background should help. Denver beat Green Bay in October; the Broncos were just about the last team to get the best of Jordan Love.

What’s not to like: The Broncos even with Patrick Surtain at cornerback and Justin Simmons at safety ranked 26th in yards per attempt and 30th in passer rating. That was down sharply from seventh in passer rating in 2022. It’s one game, yes, but the Dolphins scored 70 against Denver in Week 3 with Tua Tagovailoa throwing for 309 yards and four touchdowns.

For more on Parker and his Green Bay ties: Click here.

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