Right after the game on Sunday, I wrote that the Green Bay Packers should make coaching changes for 2024. Not the head coach — at least for now —, because Matt LaFleur has a track record of success, but some of his assistants. LaFleur is overwhelmed trying to control every aspect of the team, and hasn't gotten much help from the coaches under him.

Well, now that the Packers assumed the season is basically over after trading cornerback Rasul Douglas to the Buffalo Bills, it's clear that their eyes are already in 2024. And if that's the case, they should move accordingly everywhere else.

Pragmatically, it's highly unlikely that Joe Barry will be the Packers defensive coordinator next year. He has been in his third season on the job, so there's been more than enough time to implement his ideas, and the unit has regressed in 2023. And contrary to the offense, this is a unit ready to be good now. Most of the team's investment over the last half decade has been on defense, which includes every first-round pick except Jordan Love and every significant free agent addition except Billy Turner.

Even with significant talent around the roster, the Packers are 28th in defensive DVOA. There are several units with less talent and more production. Barry was statistically a downgrade from Mike Pettine, and it's not particularly close.

Why would they wait?

If a team is truly competing for a playoff spot, it's way harder to make drastic coaching staff moves. But the Packers are not, and now we know they know that. If that's the case, there's no reason to keep a coordinator who won't be around next year. It's not only about the results, but about giving more opportunities to other people.

There's not a clear name to be crowned the interim duties as defensive coordinator, and it tells us a lot. Most of the defensive coaching staff is the same from the Pettine era. But there's one name that could bring something different to the table.

That's passing game coordinator Greg Williams. He has a diverse background, being in the NFL since 2009. He was an assistant linebackers coach and assistant secondary coach for the San Diego Chargers from 2009 to 2015, working under Ron Rivera, Greg Manusky, and John Pagano. Then, he spent two seasons with the Indianapolis Colts, under Chuck Pagano. His two previous jobs, as the Denver Broncos DBs coach in 2018 and as the Arizona Cardinals CBs coach from 2019 to 2022 were behind Vance Joseph.

Especially in Arizona, the coaching staff got more production than the roster talent would indicate. It's impossible to know how important Greg Williams was for that, and how he would do taking over mid-season, but at this point the Packers have nothing to lose.

The other realistic option would be pass rush specialist Jason Rebrovich, who has coached defensive line and outside linebackers throughout his NFL career — before Green Bay, he had worked for the Buffalo Bills and Jacksonville Jaguars.

The Green Bay Packers seldom make coaching in-season changes, and they have never done anything similar to that in the Matt LaFleur era — even when it was obvious that there would be changes later in the offseason, and it happened to special teams coordinator Mo Drayton in 2021.

But it's the first time under LaFleur that the Packers have no shot at the playoffs so early. It's time to make things differently, take a look at the mirror and critically analyze what can be done to improve the team's chances for the future.

The Packers must consider coaching staff changes

Matt LaFleur’s coaching staff decisions have been beyond questionable