FanHouse Joe Barry

After releasing Cato June and Derrick Brooks to open the offseason, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers have quite a need for some help at the linebacker position. Apparently, they're not only willing to scour the free-agent market, but also think outside the box -- or blindly throw darts at the wall, depending on your perspective -- when it comes to improving the position.

On Wednesday, the team signed free-agent linebacker Angelo Crowell, formerly of the Buffalo Bills, to compete for the strongside linebacker spot. The Buccaneers also plan to move safety Jermaine Phillips to weakside linebacker.

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When the Detroit Lions acquired Leigh Bodden from the Cleveland Browns this past offseason, it was supposed to help strengthen a secondary that, for the most part, couldn't cover itself with a blanket. Of course, it should have been a bad omen for Lions fans when Matt Millen, the man who made the trade, predicted that Shaun Rogers, the player he gave up to acquire Bodden, would take home the NFL defensive player of the year award if he was healthy. How's that for a confidence builder?

As it turns out, Bodden, a highly-touted player in Cleveland, never really lived up to expectations and was a pretty big disappointment during the '08 season -- which probably explains why will be released by the Lions after just one season in the Motor City.

The Lions coaching staff is coming together nicely. Gone are Rod Marinelli, Joe Barry and Jim Colletto. In are Jim Schwartz, Gunther Cunningham, and Scott Linehan.

The Rams fired Linehan as their head coach last September after the team stumbled to an 0-4 start. By all accounts he was dreadful, amassing a 11-25 record in just over two seasons. Schwartz hiring him to coordinate the Lions' offense might seem like more of same in Detroit. But here's the thing: just because a guy is a complete and utter failure as a head coach doesn't mean he's not a good coordinator with a firm grasp on Xs and Os.

Detroit News columnist Rob Parker was harshly criticized last month after he badgered Lions coach Rod Marinelli over his daughter's marriage to his defensive coordinator. Now he's out of work because of it:

"He doesn't work here any more," Managing Editor Donald Nauss said. He said Parker resigned on Friday. Asked whether this followed a suspension of his column, Nauss said, "I can't talk about personnel matters."

Parker reportedly was demoted from columnist to general assignment reporter because of the incident, and he apparently resigned because of that demotion.

Marinelli's Lions became the first team in NFL history to finish a season 0-16, and the Lions' defense was the worst in the league under coordinator Joe Barry, who is married to Marinelli's daughter. At Marinelli's press conference following the Lions' Week 16 loss to the Saints, Parker asked, "Do you wish your daughter would have married a better defensive coordinator?"

Parker later apologized, but Marinelli said he did not accept the apology.

Parker also appears on ESPN, which did not take any action over his comments.

Detroit News reporter Rob Parker issued an apology of sorts in his column today, saying that he was just trying to lighten the mood when he asked Lions coach Rod Marinelli a pointed question about his son-in-law, who is also his defensive coordinator.

Last year Detroit Lions coach Rod Marinelli hired his son-in-law, Joe Barry, as his defensive coordinator, and the results have been dismal: The Lions are the worst team in the league with the worst defense in the league. But still, Detroit News columnist Rob Parker may have crossed the line in today's post-game press conference:

Parker asked Marinelli, "Do you wish your daughter would have married a better defensive coordinator?"

A reporter asked Detroit Lions coach Rod Marinelli on Monday whether the coaches or the players were to blame for the team's pathetic defensive performance on Sunday. Marinelli answered, "Why would I tell you?"

That answer, I suppose, could be used to avoid every single question at every single press conference. But as long as Marinelli is going to have press conferences, he might as well answer questions. And Rob Parker of the Detroit News writes that the real answer is that the coaches are to blame -- but Marinelli won't say so because his defensive coordinator is his son-in-law, Joe Barry.

With the announcement of the firing of 2006 Defensive Coordinator Donnie Henderson, a new era has officially begun in Detroit. Henderson, who had played on a team coached by Rod Marinelli, never gelled with Marinelli's dogged faith in the Tampa-style Cover-2 zone defense. Joe Barry, in spite of being Marinelli's son-in-law, is likely one of the league's biggest proponents of the defensive scheme. Both Barry and Marinelli coached under Tony Dungy, Lovie Smith, and Monte Kiffin in Tampa. They are adherents to what has become one of the more effective defensive schemes in recent NFL history. That in mind, one has to wonder if the Lions will have the personnel necessary for the scheme to be effective in 2007 and if the rest of the league has not already caught up with and adapted to the scheme.

The Lions allowed opponents to complete nearly 70% of their passes this season. The Lions were almost completely unable to generate a consistent pass rush, especially from their edge pass rushers, even though DT Cory Redding had eight sacks. The Tampa-2 is a "bend, but don't break" type of defense that is predicated on a heavy pass rush from the defensive line and excellent zone coverage from the linebackers and the defensive backs. Most Cover-2 schemes demand big, physical corners who make it difficult for receivers to get off of the line of scrimmage. The Lions never established this type of defense against the pass. The Tampa-2 also emphasizes maintaining gap responsibilities against the run, to eliminate running lanes and allow the zone defense's fast, undersized linebackers to flow to the play unabated. The Lions linebackers, aside from Ernie Sims, never flourished within this scheme this season.

The Lions do possess some of the necessary personnel from which Barry can build a stronger Tampa-Style defense. First priority is re-signing DT Cory Redding who has proven to be a diference maker since he was moved to the middle. Getting All-Pro DT Shaun Rogers fully on board with the defense may be Barry's biggest challenge but could lead to the greatest rewards for the team. The Lions can only hope that with one more season that young players like Ernie Sims, Alex Lewis, and Stanley Wilson, Jr will continue to improve under Barry's guidance. The biggest priority for the organization is finding a consistent edge pass rusher via free agency, trade, draft or internally. Kalimba Edwards continues to be a major disappointment who may finally develop under the auspices of Barry's guidance.

The Lions 2007 off-season has hit the ground running. Within 72 hours, the Lions garnered an implausible road victory against a playoff team, fired a position coach and coordinator, had another coach retire, retained a team president whose career record is 24-72 across six seasons, and replaced the aforementioned fired coordinator.

The Lions victory in Dallas has many Lions fans up in arms. Unexpected as the victory was, any meager success this organization can muster is valuable as it continues it's arduous and perilous march towards NFL respectability. As much as many detractors are disappointed about the team surrendering the first overall pick in the 2007 draft with a victory, I think it is safe to say that the prospects would be considerably more ominous if the current regime were allowed to make that pick, considering the complete lack of credibility that the Lions front office staff currently possesses. The fact that a 2-13 team can find a way to play hard and achieve a victory on the road, against a Super Bowl contender, is a small tribute to the direction of the team under Head Coach Rod Marinelli.

In moves that may call into question Marinelli's decision-making prowess, the Lions fired Offensive Line Coach Larry Beightol, who is highly regarded among NFL circles, and Defensive Coordinator Donnie Henderson, who is also well-regarded but has very different philosophies about defense than Marinelli. Meanwhile, long-time Special Teams Coach Chuck Priefer has decided to retire. The team promoted his long-time assistant Stan Kwan. Both Priefer and Kwan have weathered the Lions many coaching changes during recent seasons, so hopefully Kwan will be able to enact a smooth transition entering 2007.

In spite of potential accusations of nepotism, Marinelli hired former Tampa Bay linebackers coach Joe Barry to become the Lions new Defensive Coordinator. Barry, who is Marinelli's son-in-law, would have joined the Lions last season but the Buccaneers have a policy of making it difficult for their coaches to leave the organization while under contract. Barry's hiring is an indication that the organization is fully committed to implementing the Tampa Cover-2 Zone defense scheme, despite the difficulties the 2006 Lions have had in adapting to the new scheme.