Joe Barry was named the defensive coordinator on January 20, 2015 for the Washington Redskins.  Barry is entering his 14th NFL season and this will be his 3rd stint as a defensive coordinator. If Barry doesn’t get this defense performing well, this might just be his last ride as a defensive coordinator in the NFL.

Barry has been part of defensive staffs that have finished in the top 10 five times, including number one units in 2002 and 2005 with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Let’s not forget that the Bucs won the championship back in ’02.

After the success he had in Tampa, Barry then moved on to the Detroit, the Motor City. Here things didn’t run so smoothly, as the Detroit Lions were last in points allowed and total yards given up that season. They also were last in yards per play, yards per rush and yards per pass. People can say that the Lions didn’t have a talented squad back then and they probably didn’t, but the fact is, Barry didn’t come close to getting the job done when he was in Detroit. They went on to obtain a 0-16 record — the last team to do that was the Bucs in 1976. These statistics should be frightening to Redskin fans. This was the time in his career where he had total control of the defense and he failed miserably. It’s extremely hard to see what the Redskins see in this guy. I know he has some ties to Bruce Allen, but this was a very questionable move.

Thank goodness he had some success as the San Diego Chargers’ linebackers coach. His 4-year stint wasn’t so bad with them, but let’s not forget that he went back down to the college level to coach USC’s linebackers before he got hired on the Chargers coaching staff. With all this being said, what does Barry bring to the table?  The only thing that comes to mind is that he brings high energy. He’s been on a championship team but didn’t have full control over it. It’s extremely hard to see eye to eye with the Redskins on this hire. They have had a subpar and dysfunctional defense for quite some time now and one would think the Redskins would try to get a veteran coach to make the changes needed for the defensive unit.

It’s truly a boom or bust year for Barry and his career. If he can’t manage to turn this defense around with all the talent brought in, then his time as an NFL coach will be over. He’s receiving his chance at redemption, and to try to prove what he can do one last time. He’s got a lot of work to do to prove to the organization that they made the right call, but it’s tough for fans because the only thing they can think of is the nightmare he had in ’08. Will his name be tarnished forever? Or will he bring the magic back to the defense once again?