Defensive Coordinator Joe Barry Fired By Washington Redskins
The Washington Redskins announced on Thursday that they were parting ways with defensive coordinator Joe Barry. The move will shake up the Redskins defensive staff.
In a move that surprised very few, the Washington Redskins elected to part ways with their embattled defensive coordinator Joe Barry on Thursday afternoon. Barry, the Redskins coordinator in each of the past two seasons, was let go after a year in which the Redskins ranked 28th in yards allowed and 19th in points scored. The news broke via NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport on Twitter.
The #Redskins have fired defensive coordinator Joe Barry and at least one assistant, source said. Not a surprise, given players comments.
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) January 5, 2017
In addition, the team also parted ways with defensive line coach Rob Akey, strengths and conditioning coach Mike Clark, and defensive backs coach Perry Fewell. This broke per the Redskins Twitter account.
The Redskins are absolutely making the right move in parting ways with Barry. Simply put, despite some key additions on defense, the team’s defense never improved and that cost them a playoff berth.
One of the biggest black marks on Barry’s early season efforts was his inability to effectively use Josh Norman. The No. 1 corner had signed in free agency, and was expected to shadow the opposing team’s top receiver. In the first game and a half, he did not do that per Barry’s orders. Barry wanted to make sure that the other cornerbacks did not have to move around and get confused, and thus put in an overly simplistic scheme. As a result, Antonio Brown and Dez Bryant torched Bashaud Breeland, which cost the Skins the first couple games of the season.
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Speaking of Breeland, his regression illustrates another point about Barry. Despite having some young talent, Barry was unable to develop it. Breeland regressed in his third year, though he was only tasked with being the No. 2 cornerback this season. Elsewhere, Barry was unable to help Preston Smith develop into a consistent pass rushing threat, and simply could not put players in positions to succeed.
The biggest problem with Barry’s defense was the complete lack of fundamentals. At points during the season, the Redskins could not tackle and allowed huge chunks of rushing yards to be gained by opponents. In their two late season losses, the tackling was so bad and that ultimately cost them a postseason berth. Granted, one of the games was played without Will Compton, but Barry had replacement Martrell Spaight so ill-prepared for the contest that Barry definitely deserves some of the blame.
One could argue that Barry did not have enough talent on defense to get the job done. The defensive line and safety positions were particularly weak, and Scot McCloughan should be blamed for not bringing in the right personnel. Still, that excuse could only go so far for Barry. The defense was just not good enough, and played below their potential.
Moving forward, it will be interesting to see who the Redskins target for the position. Rex Ryan is on the market, so he could be their top option. Former Jaguars head coach Gus Bradley could also be a name to watch.
