Barbay started his career at Monsignor Kelly Catholic High School as their wide receivers coach. Barbay would then move on to Baylor as a graduate assistant, a position he would hold for two years. Barbay's next stop would come at Texas A&M-Commerce as their quarterback and wide receiver coach, After two years with Texas A&M-Commerce, Barbay would be hired by North Texas as a graduate assistant for one year Barbay's next stop however he would be his first head coaching gig where he would be hired by Warren High School as their head coach. He would then move on to Lamar as their wide receiver and special teams coach. After coaching for two years at Lamar, Barbay would become the director of player personal at Colorado State. After a one-year stint with Colorado State, Barbay was hired by the Florida Gators as their director of player personal. After two years with the Gators, Barbay was hired to be the offensive coordinator and quarterback coach for Stephen F. Austin. The next stop for Barbay would come with the Central Michigan as their assistant head coach and wide receivers coach. After two season with Central Michigan, he was promoted to be their offensive coordinator and quarterback coach for the 2021 season. After three seasons with Central Michigan, Barbay would leave to become the offensive coordinator and quarterback coach for the Appalachian State Mountaineers. The two seasons at Appalachian State, Barbay's offenses combined to averaged 448.01 yards per game and would go on to rank in the top 20 nationally. His offenses would consistently score over 30 points per game, achieving that feat 56 percent of the time with a 33.61 points per game average. After his two steller season with the Mountaineers, Barbay would head to Mississippi State as their offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach.
