Joe Barry (born July 5, 1970) is an

American football American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team wi ...

coach who is the

defensive coordinator A defensive coordinator is a coach responsible for a gridiron football (American football) team's defense. Generally, the defensive coordinator, the offensive coordinator and the special teams coordinator represent the second level of a team's c ...

for the

Green Bay Packers The Green Bay Packers are a professional American football team based in Green Bay, Wisconsin. The Packers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the National Football Conference (NFC) North division. It is the t ...

of the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the majo ...

(NFL). He previously served as the assistant head coach and linebackers coach for the

Los Angeles Rams The Los Angeles Rams are a professional American football team based in the Greater Los Angeles, Los Angeles metropolitan area. The Rams compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC Wes ...

from 2017 to 2020 and defensive coordinator for the

Washington Commanders The Washington Commanders are a professional American football team based in the Washington metropolitan area. The Commanders compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) E ...

from 2015 to 2016 and the

Detroit Lions The Detroit Lions are a professional American football team based in Detroit. The Lions compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) North Division. The team play their home games at For ...

from 2007 to 2008. Barry also previously served as an assistant coach for the

San Diego Chargers The San Diego Chargers were a professional American football team that played in San Diego from 1961 until the end of the 2016 season, before relocating to Los Angeles, where the franchise had played its inaugural 1960 season. The team is now ...

Tampa Bay Buccaneers The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are a professional American football team based in Tampa, Florida. The Buccaneers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) South division. The cl ...

and

San Francisco 49ers The San Francisco 49ers (also written as the San Francisco Forty-Niners) are a professional American football team based in the San Francisco Bay Area. The 49ers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the league's Nationa ...

. Barry is the son of former coach Mike Barry.

Early years

Barry played

linebacker Linebacker (LB) is a playing position in gridiron football. Linebackers are members of the defensive team, and line up three to five yards behind the line of scrimmage and the defensive linemen. They are the "middle ground" of defenders, ...

at the

University of Michigan , mottoeng = "Arts, Knowledge, Truth" , former_names = Catholepistemiad, or University of Michigania (1817–1821) , budget = $10.3 billion (2021) , endowment = $17 billion (2021)As o ...

from 1989 to 1990 before transferring to the

University of Southern California , mottoeng = "Let whoever earns the palm bear it" , religious_affiliation = Nonsectarian—historically Methodist , established = , accreditation = WSCUC , type = Private research university , academic_affiliations = , endowment = $8.1 ...

Coaching career

Early career

In 1994, Barry began his coaching career at the

(USC), his alma mater, as a graduate assistant. In 1996, Barry joined

Northern Arizona University Northern Arizona University (NAU) is a public research university based in Flagstaff, Arizona. It was founded in 1899 as the final public university established in the Arizona Territory, 13 years before Arizona was admitted as the 48th state. ...

as their linebackers coach and would serve in that role from 1996 to 1998 before being hired in the same capacity at

University of Nevada, Las Vegas The University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV) is a public land-grant research university in Paradise, Nevada. The campus is about east of the Las Vegas Strip. It was formerly part of the University of Nevada from 1957 to 1969. It includes th ...

(UNLV) in 1999.

San Francisco 49ers

In 2000, Barry was hired by the

as a defensive quality control coach under defensive coordinator Jim Mora and head coach Steve Mariucci.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

In 2001, Barry was hired by the

as their linebackers coach under defensive coordinator

Monte Kiffin Monte George Kiffin (born February 29, 1940) is an American football coach. He is currently a player personnel analyst at Ole Miss for his son, Lane Kiffin. He is widely considered to be one of the preeminent defensive coordinators in modern f ...

and head coach

Tony Dungy Anthony Kevin Dungy ( ; born October 6, 1955) is an American former football safety and coach who served as a head coach in the National Football League (NFL) for 13 seasons with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Indianapolis Colts. Dungy's teams be ...

. In

2002 File:2002 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 2002 Winter Olympics are held in Salt Lake City; Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother and her daughter Princess Margaret, Countess of Snowdon die; East Timor gains East Timor independence, indepe ...

, Barry, along with Kiffin, were retained by the new head coach of the Buccaneers

Jon Gruden Jon David Gruden (born August 17, 1963) is a former American professional football coach who was a head coach in the National Football League (NFL) for 15 seasons. He held his first head coaching position with the Raiders franchise during thei ...

. That season, the Buccaneers went to

Super Bowl XXXVII Super Bowl XXXVII was an American football game between the American Football Conference (AFC) champion Oakland Raiders and the National Football Conference (NFC) champion Tampa Bay Buccaneers to decide the National Football League (NFL) cha ...

and defeated the

Oakland Raiders The Oakland Raiders were a professional American football team that played in Oakland from its founding in 1960 to 1981 and again from 1995 to 2019 before relocating to the Las Vegas metropolitan area where they now play as the Las Vegas Ra ...

to win their first Super Bowl title.

Detroit Lions

In 2007, Barry was hired by the

as their defensive coordinator under head coach Rod Marinelli, who is also Barry's father-in-law. At a press conference on December 21, 2008, following the Lions' 42–7 loss to the

New Orleans Saints The New Orleans Saints are a professional American football team based in New Orleans. The Saints compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) South division. Since 1975, the te ...

, ''

Detroit News ''The Detroit News'' is one of the two major newspapers in the U.S. city of Detroit, Michigan. The paper began in 1873, when it rented space in the rival ''Detroit Free Press'' building. ''The News'' absorbed the ''Detroit Tribune'' on Februar ...

'' sports columnist Rob Parker addressed a question about Barry to Rod Marinelli, inquiring whether Marinelli wished that his daughter had "married a better defensive coordinator." (Barry was the Lions' defensive coordinator at the time.) The question was criticized as unprofessional and inappropriate. The next day, Parker wrote that the comment was "an attempt at humor" and not a malicious attack. Parker has not written for the ''Detroit News'' since, and has not attended any press conferences since the incident, including the one Marinelli gave following his dismissal as head coach of the Lions. On January 6, 2009, the ''Detroit News'' announced that Parker had resigned from the newspaper the previous week. Following the firing of Marinelli, Barry was not retained by the Lions.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers (second stint)

In 2009, Barry returned and was re-hired by the

as their linebackers coach under defensive coordinator Jim Bates and head coach

Raheem Morris Raheem Morris (born September 3, 1976) is an American football coach who is the defensive coordinator for the Los Angeles Rams of the National Football League (NFL). He previously served as head coach for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers from 2009 to ...

Jacksonville Jaguars & USC

On January 26, 2010, Barry was hired by the

Jacksonville Jaguars The Jacksonville Jaguars are a professional American football team based in Jacksonville, Florida. The Jaguars compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) South division. The team pla ...

and signed a contract to be their linebackers coach. That same day, it was announced that the Jaguars released Barry from his contract so he can join the

(USC) as their linebackers coach.

San Diego Chargers

In 2012, Barry was hired by the

as their linebackers coach under defensive coordinator John Pagano and head coach

Norv Turner Norval Turner (born May 17, 1952) is an American football coach in the National Football League (NFL). An offensive assistant for the majority of his coaching career, he came to prominence as the Dallas Cowboys' offensive coordinator during the ...

. In 2013, Barry was retained by new Chargers head coach Mike McCoy.

Washington Commanders

In 2015, Barry was hired by the

as their defensive coordinator under head coach Jay Gruden. Following the 2016 season, Barry was fired.

Los Angeles Rams

On January 14, 2017, Barry was hired by the

as their assistant head coach and linebackers coach under head coach

Sean McVay Sean McVay (born January 24, 1986) is an American football coach who is the head coach for the Los Angeles Rams of the National Football League (NFL). He became the youngest NFL head coach in the modern era when he was hired by the Rams in 20 ...

Green Bay Packers

On February 8, 2021, Barry was hired by the

as their defensive coordinator under head coach

Matt LaFleur Matthew Patrick LaFleur ( ; born November 3, 1979) is an American football coach who is the head coach for the Green Bay Packers of the National Football League (NFL). He has served as the quarterback coach of the Washington Redskins, Notre Dame ...

, replacing

Mike Pettine Michael Mark Pettine (born September 25, 1966) is an American football coach who currently is an assistant head coach for the Minnesota Vikings of the National Football League. He was the head coach of the Cleveland Browns from 2014 to 2015, ...

. In his first year coordinating the unit, he developed veteran linebacker

De'Vondre Campbell De'Vondre Campbell (born July 1, 1993) is an American football linebacker for the Green Bay Packers of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Hutchinson Community College before transferring to Minnesota, and was selec ...

, who was signed as a free-agent for a $2 million contract, to First-Team All-Pro honors. His unit finished as the NFL's 9th ranked defense by yards allowed, despite missing star pass-rusher

Za'Darius Smith Za'Darius Smith (born September 8, 1992) is an American football defensive end for the Cleveland Browns of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at East Mississippi Community College before transferring to Kentucky. He ...

and star cornerback

Jaire Alexander Jaire Zakar Alexander (born February 9, 1997) is an American football cornerback for the Green Bay Packers of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Louisville, and was selected by the Packers in the first round of t ...

for most of the season. During Week 11, his unit shut out Seahawks quarterback

Russell Wilson Russell Carrington Wilson (born November 29, 1988) is an American football quarterback for the Denver Broncos of the National Football League (NFL). He previously played his first 10 seasons for the Seattle Seahawks. Wilson is widely regarded ...

for the first time in his career. In their Divisional Round playoff game against the San Francisco 49ers, Barry and the Packers defense intercepted 49ers quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo once, while sacking him four times, limiting him to 3 points through 55 minutes as the Packers led by 7. However, the Packers lost 13–10 after their special teams unit allowed a blocked punt to be returned for a game-tying touchdown with 4:41 to play, the Packers offense was unable to produce on the following drive and had to punt with 2 minutes remaining, and the defense was unable to come up with a final stop, as the Packers lost 13–10.

Personal life

Barry is married to his wife, Chris Marinelli Barry, and they have four children together: daughters Camryn and Lauren and sons Sam and Nick. Through his marriage with Chris, Barry is the son-in-law to NFL coach and

Las Vegas Raiders The Las Vegas Raiders are a professional American football team based in the Las Vegas metropolitan area. The Raiders compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) West div ...

defensive line coach Rod Marinelli.Archer, Todd (December 7, 2015).
Rod Marinelli, son-in-law Joe Barry will talk ... after the game
. ''ESPN.com''. Retrieved February 24, 2022.

References

External links

Green Bay Packers profile

Los Angeles Rams profile

USC Trojans profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Barry, Joe 1970 births Living people American football linebackers USC Trojans football coaches Michigan Wolverines football players Tampa Bay Buccaneers coaches Detroit Lions coaches Los Angeles Rams coaches San Diego Chargers coaches Washington Commanders coaches USC Trojans football players National Football League defensive coordinators San Francisco 49ers coaches Green Bay Packers coaches Sportspeople from Boulder, Colorado People from Boulder, Colorado