This last offseason the Washington Redskins were looking for a new defensive coordinator. Jim Haslett the DC under Mike Shanahan for four seasons and Jay Gruden for one had been fired. So an upgrade was being sought to jump-start the Redskins defense.
There were a number of candidates being interviewed including a few in Wade Phillips and Vic Fangio who were considered among the best in the league. However, Gruden chose to go with Joe Barry who had previously worked with during their time the Tampa Bay Buccaneers staff.
Initially, I thought the pick of Barry was about cronyism, as there were more experienced candidates available.