Joe Barry has been a very hot topic of conversation among Green Bay Packers fans over the last couple of years and it’s not in a flattering manner.

People have been calling for his job for a while, now, and there have been plenty of moments that make that a logical argument. There have been numerous defensive gaffes and head-scratching calls during Barry’s tenure to where it’s impossible to ignore the ever-growing elephant in the room, anymore: his job status.

The Packers need to fire Joe Barry. And they need to do it before their Week 16 contest against the Carolina Panthers. The last thing the franchise needs is Barry to look like a good DC against a pitiful Panthers offense. It’s time to cut ties.

Barry hasn’t been awful this year, but there have been plenty of those head-scratching moments that have played a big role in Packers losses. Remember when he had Preston Smith covering Davante Adams several weeks ago? Well, he had De’Vondre Campbell on Chris Godwin on Sunday and the end result was a 21-yard reception on 2nd and 18 that could be seen coming from a mile away.

It’s not just that, though. The Packers have now lost back-to-back games and Barry’s defense is a major reason why. He allowed Tommy DeVito to run all over the place in Week 14 and didn’t make any adjustments, whatsoever. Against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, the defense allowed a season-high 34 points and it allowed at least 10 plays of 21+ yards, including the 52-yard, backbreaking catch and run by David Moore.

The run defense has always been an issue. Time and time again, we’ve seen a defense that is too bought into the “bend but don’t break” mantra and it doesn’t even work most of the time. LaFleur even talked about how he wanted the defensive mindset to change after the Bucs loss and he publicly stated issues with Barry’s approach earlier in the year.

The Packers defense has a low ceiling under Barry and we are talking about a defense that has eight first-round draft picks and multiple All-Pros. That shouldn’t -and can’t- happen in the NFL.

Packers’ Matt LaFleur publicly comments on Barry’s future

LaFleur was asked several times about the Packers defense and Barry’s future and he made his stance on Barry’s job status clear.

“Now’s not the time for that, to be honest with you,” LaFleur told reporters after the game. “I need to watch the movie again and see if I can solve any problems.

“… Right now, we’re looking for solutions. So I want to go back to it and as soon as we leave here, I’m gonna go right into my office and get to work on that. Because, like I said, it’s extremely disappointing to have a home game against a team that’s right in the thick of it, in their division, when you’re holding on to one of those spots and you get kind of manhandled in the second half of a tight ballgame. I mean, it’s extremely disappointing.”

Not to be a smart-ass, but did LaFleur consider firing Barry as part of the solution? I mean, we’ve seen these moves work in the past. One doesn’t have to go any further than the division rival Detroit Lions. Dan Campbell fired his defensive passing game coordinator last year and the unit turned around. The week after Mike Tomlin fired former offensive coordinator Matt Canada, we finally saw the Pittsburgh Steelers score 400 yards of offence.

Firing a coach can certainly create a spark. And the Packers defense needs the biggest spark it can get, right now.

If LaFleur doesn’t make the move then all he’s doing is keeping his team’s playoff chances low. He has to part ways with Barry and he has to do it, now.