He was jobless for a short time after leaving Austria Salzburg and then he worked as an assistant coach in the Croatia national team until the end of the 1996 European Championship. In July 1996, he became the head coach of Dinamo Zagreb and led the club to titles in both the Croatian First League and Croatian Cup in only one season he coached the team. In June 1997, he left Dinamo for Turkish club Fenerbahçe, where he worked until March 1999. Barić was then unemployed for a couple of months after leaving Fenerbahçe and subsequently returned to his international career as the head coach of the Austria national team between 1999 and 2001, giving up his position after Austria failed to qualify for the 2002 World Cup finals.