Inside the Dolphins-Packers Coaching Swap

WEAVER'S BOND WITH JOE BARRY

“Joe Barry, obviously, is a tremendous football coach," Weaver said of Barry, who was the Packers defensive coordinator the past three seasons before head coach Matt LaFleur fired him in the aftermath of their divisional playoff loss at San Francisco. "Back in 2021 when I left Houston, me and Joe spent a lot of time conversating about the potential of joining up with the Chargers under Brandon Staley. That didn’t come to fruition, but through those conversations, we formed a friendship.

"Over the years, we’ve always kind of kept in touch, and then through mutual friends, I’ve obviously heard nothing but incredible things about him. So to add him to our staff with his wisdom and intellect and knowledge is a tremendous win for us as a team and then for me individually, as a guy that’s just been in it and most recently calling it."

In Barry's three seasons as Packers DC, Green Bay ranked ninth, 17th and 17th in total defense.

LaFleur explained the decision to move on from Barry at Hafley's introductory press conference.

“There’s a lot of thought and deliberation that goes into that,” LaFleur said. “You guys know how I feel about Joe Barry. I’m so thankful for our time together. I’ve got so much respect for him as a man and as a coach, and what he was able to do for us. Those are tough decisions, but I think as a head football coach, sometimes you’ve got to make some tough decisions in terms of what you think you need to do moving forward to put your team in the best possible position.”

THE CAMPANILE-HAFLEY CONNECTION

Campanile left the Dolphins after interviewing for the defensive coordinator position each of the past two offseasons, but was bypassed in favor of Vic Fangio last year and Weaver this time.

With Weaver coming in and wanting his stamp on his staff — defensive line coach Austin Clark — is the only defensive assistant remaining in the same role from last year — it became logical for both the Dolphins and Campanile to part ways.

It always figured that Campanile would have a strong market given that he's so often mentioned as a rising star in the coaching ranks — and not just because of his famous "ass whoopin'" speech featured during one of the early "Hard Knocks" episodes.

Asked what he saw in Campanile, Hafley replied: "It wasn’t 'Hard Knocks.' That’s not where I got to know him. A lot of you guys are probably thinking that’s where we found him. You guys probably watched him on 'Hard Knocks,' but I’m gonna reiterate this. When you see Anthony on 'Hard Knocks,' you’re probably think of a fiery, energetic motivator, a guy from Jersey because he definitely has a Jersey accent, right?

"But he’s one of the best, most loyal people I’ve ever been around and he’s one of the best football coaches I’ve ever been around. We go way back. We really haven’t worked together. When I was a young college coach, he was a coordinator at a high school I used to go to. They were one of the best high schools in the nation and we’d always spend hours talking football — and I mean hours. Finally when I was at Pitt, I had a chance to get him offered to be a graduate assistant because I thought so highly of him. Well, the head coach was let go, so I went to Rutgers and as I was leaving Rutgers to go to Tampa, I got him a GA (Graduate Assistant) job there. We kept in touch always; football questions, constantly; get together whenever we can. When I got to Ohio State, I tried to hire him, but for one reason or another, he couldn’t leave at the time. When I got to Boston College, I tried to hire him but he decided to go somewhere else. So this time I recruited him a lot better."

The date and time of that Dolphins-Packers game in 2024 will be revealed when the full regular schedule is announced, likely sometime in May.