GREEN BAY, Wis. – Christian Parker was just 27 years old when Green Bay Packers coach Matt LaFleur hired him as a defensive quality-control coach as part of his first staff in 2019.
Could the 32-year-old come back as defensive coordinator?
Parker interviewed on Thursday for the vacancy created by this week’s dismissal of Joe Barry, according to NFL Network’s James Palmer .
After two years of working under then-defensive coordinator Mike Pettine, Parker was hired as defensive backs coach of the Denver Broncos, where he spent the last three seasons. During that span, Denver finished 13th in opponent passer rating and cornerback Patrick Surtain and safety Justin Simmons earned All-Pro honors.
He is schooled in the Vic Fangio-style defenses the Packers employed the last three years by ousted-coordinator Joe Barry, so they’d have a fresh voice with a fresh vision teaching familiar schemes.
Parker’s time in Green Bay left a mark, where he learned from football savant Tramon Williams, who learned from Charles Woodson.