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New Los Angeles Chargers head coach Brandon Staley is expected to poach Los Angeles Rams assistant Joe Barry away from Sean McVay as he builds his new staff, according to NFL Network employees who needed to share credit for this “huge scoop” for some reason. (Tom Pelissero and Ian Rapoport.)
Barry has been McVay’s assistant head coach since the beginning of his Rams tenure in 2017. He also coaches the linebackers, a job he held with the San Diego Chargers from 2011 to 2014 under Norv Turner and Mike McCoy, respectively.
New #Chargers coach Brandon Staley is bringing along at least one assistant from the #Rams — Joe Barry is expected to join Staley as defensive passing game coordinator and linebackers coach, sources tell me and @RapSheet.
— Tom Pelissero (@TomPelissero) January 21, 2021
Barry had been rumored as an option to become the defensive coordinator for the Las Vegas Raiders this year, but he will serve as linebackers coach and defensive passing game coordinator under Staley.
Staley has not hired a defensive coordinator yet, but reportedly has interviewed at least one person for the job. Barry served as Washington Football’s defensive coordinator under Jay Gruden from 2015-2016 but that doesn’t like look his role with the Chargers.
The Rams are now on the market not only for a defensive coordinator, but a linebackers coach and assistant head coach too.
From my previous post on Joe Barry:
Barry has served four total NFL seasons as a defensive coordinator, ranking 32nd in points and yards allowed during both of his campaigns with the Lions, then 28th in yards allowed during both of his seasons in Washington, plus 17th and 19th in points allowed those years, respectively.
Of course, like many coaches that have come across Jay Gruden and Sean McVay, Barry served as an assistant on Jon Gruden’s Tampa Bay Buccaneers. As linebackers coach with the Bucs, Barry worked with Hall of Famer Derrick Brooks, though of course Brooks was already on his way to a Hall of Fame career.
With the Rams over the last four seasons, Barry helped developed Cory Littleton — who signed a three-year, $35 million contract with the Raiders last offseason — as well as work with Alec Ogletree, Mark Barron, Robert Quinn, Dante Fowler, Samson Ebukam, Leonard Floyd, Micah Kiser, Clay Matthews (at the end of his career), Troy Reeder and Kenny Young. But the Raiders may be more interested in his work as assistant head coach under McVay and Brandon Staley, who helped orchestrate the NFL’s number one defense in 2020.