Cowboys add longtime coach Mike Pettine as senior defensive assistant after early struggles

After a rough start to the season in Dallas, Christian Parker is getting some help. 

The Cowboys are bringing in longtime former coach Mike Pettine as a senior defensive assistant, the team announced on Monday. The 60-year-old actually worked with Parker, the team’s current defensive coordinator, back when they were on staff with the Green Bay Packers. Pettine hired Parker as an assistant there in 2019 for his first job in the NFL.

“Had a chance to work with Pettine for a number of years, along with the Jets, and he’s gonna be here in a role to support everything that [Christian Parker] is leading and guiding, and we are really, really excited,” Cowboys head coach Mike Schottenheimer said on Monday. “They worked together in Green Bay, and this is actually something the C.P. and I talked about when we first hired him.”

Pettine has been a coach in the league for more than two decades. Most notably, he served as the Cleveland Browns head coach for two seasons from 2014-15, though he compiled just a 10-22 record. He was also the defensive coordinator for the New York Jets, Buffalo Bills and Packers. 

Pettine retired from coaching after last season, when he was the assistant head coach and linebackers coach with the Minnesota Vikings.

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Now that he’s back in the league, Pettine will join Parker’s defensive staff in Dallas at a much-needed time. Parker, 36, was hired as the Cowboys’ defensive coordinator this past offseason, marking his first time in the role in his coaching career. 

So far, the Cowboys’ defense has struggled significantly. They are fresh off a 24-16 loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, who entered the contest on Thursday night without a win, and are allowing nearly 400 yards of offense per game. Only the Detroit Lions, at 404.4 yards per game, have allowed more. They are dead last in rushing yards allowed per contest, at more than 168 a game, and they have allowed 27.2 points per game, too. That is better than just six other teams throughout the league. 

Plenty of called out the team’s coaching staff so far, too, including owner Jerry Jones. Wink Martindale, a longtime defensive coordinator in both the NFL and college, even called Parker out by name on a podcast after the Cowboys’ late loss to the Baltimore Ravens.

“I don’t want to be an a**hole, but he’s being outclassed right now,” Martindale said of Parker. “Parker, the defensive coordinator, he was in the home opener, against the Giants. They have to stop the run … Watching Dallas, that’s frustrating. So Jerry can call me, and I’ll go help him. I’m talking about helping the coordinator.”

While Pettine’s presence won’t solve all of the Cowboys’ defensive issues, Schottenheimer is hoping that he can give Parker and their defense a boost.

“He’s excited about it,” Schottenheimer said. “I think he got his vacation out of the way, if you will. He just got back from Italy, and they’re having grandbabies and things like that, but he should be in first thing tomorrow. He’s an excellent football coach that is going to help us under the leadership of Christian Parker, and also has value for the entire staff.

“It is important to have that sounding board of a veteran guy that has coached for a long time, been a coordinator, and understands all the machinations that they have to go through.”