Christian Parker had his priorities clear when he arrived in Dallas. He wanted to turn the defense around in his first year as a defensive coordinator. But when your defense is leaking over 25 points every game, you need to call in reinforcements. And it looks like that’s what the Cowboys have done.
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In a desperate bid to turn their season around, Jerry Jones and Brian Schottenheimer have brought Mike Pettine out of retirement, the same guy Pettine wanted all those weeks ago. And when we look at the move, it’s not just Pettine’s addition that has us feeling optimistic.
“Long-time NFL coach Mike Pettine is joining the Cowboys defensive staff, reuniting with coordinator Christian Parker,” ESPN’s NFL Nation reporter, Todd Archer, wrote on X. “As the Packers defensive coordinator from 2018-20, Pettine gave Parker his first job in the NFL in 2019. When hired, Parker attempted to talk Pettine out of retirement. Now six weeks into the season, Parker has a veteran coach as a sounding board.”
The timing of the move hasn’t really surprised us. Days after the Bucs loss, Jones publicly backed Parker, signaling confidence in his coordinator. He thought firing Parker was premature. But here’s the part that is even better.
Jones hasn’t just backed his coach up in front of the media. He’s made a bigger gesture in supporting him on the field. So far, as a first-year coordinator, Parker switched the Cowboys from a 4-3 to a 3-4 system and had a whole range of new players. The problem looked like it was the execution.
As Gerald McCoy put it, “They drafted well… You just traded for a cover corner, and you’re doing everything necessary. The execution of getting a defensive coordinator that can put it together is where they messed up.”
Despite bolstering their defensive lineup in the offseason, the Dallas Cowboys haven’t been able to hold up against opponents. They’re allowing 27.2 points per game and have won only two games till now.
And that’s why Pettine’s entry into the picture could make the difference. Back in 2022, he was hired as a senior defensive assistant by the Minnesota Vikings. The team was operating in a 3-4 base defense, and by 2023, he turned it into a blitz heavy defense, one that was the 8th best against the run that year.
Beyond those years, Pettine also brings eight years worth of experience as a defensive coordinator for the New York Jets, Buffalo Bills, and the Green Bay Packers. The only thing that could make this plan go south is if circumstances of his Vikings exit repeat in Dallas.
You see, back in January, Pettine left his role under Vikings coordinator Brian Flores, incidentally another coordinator who Pettine had given his first job, after the two didn’t see eye to eye on defense. At the time, Pettine hadn’t ruled out a return.
“I don’t know if I can declare this as being a permanent thing. But the [year] that I took off after Cleveland, that I needed so that I could feel like I could see colors and smell smells again, that was one of the best years that I’ve had. … I’m going to step away and get right, mentally and physically, and make an evaluation down the road.”
Could the same thing repeat with the Cowboys? It’s a possibility, but the coaching staff in Dallas are convinced it could work. Schottenheimer claimed that Pettine was a “trusted friend” to him and to Parker. That’s one of the reasons why he believed that the 60-year-old coach would be a perfect fit for the Cowboys.
“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,” Schottenheimer said about Pettine.
“I think Pet’s experience, not only in football, but as experience in this system, of what we do, is understanding of the 3-4 family. He has the awareness of some of our players — Kenny Clark, Rashawn Gary — he was a coordinator when C.P. was there, so I think it’s just a great fit… 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.”
Yes, there is pressure about the state of this defense, but the team has a start, and it’s certainly an improvement from last year, when the rebuild was pushed to the offseason. If Parker and Pettine can work together and bring some stability to this injury wrecked side, we could even make playoffs.
Of course, it won’t be easy. Through five games, the Cowboys defense allowed 168.4 rushing yards per game and had no interceptions. But the team and Jerry Jones believe the team can work through the problems.
“Certainly, he’s sitting there taking it on the shoulders, which goes with the territory. But I feel that he’s competent. The thing that probably bothers me the most tonight is how they ran between the tackles, so to speak, and were able to have that running game up in there with where we have a lot of strength. That’s something that we’ve got to really look at and will.”
Pulling Mike Pettine out of retirement can definitely help Parker bolster the defenses. But we’ll have to see if it actually works as the Cowboys take on the Packers in Week 6.