Mike Pettine has been around long enough to know which mistakes not to repeat. The Dallas Cowboys’ new senior defensive assistant spoke Friday for the first time since coming out of retirement, and he summed up 24 years of NFL coaching with a line only a veteran could get away with.
“It’s funny, I have a big four-inch thick book of what not to do, and a very thin one of what to do,” Pettine said, according to the team.
Mike Pettine’s role with the Cowboys comes into focus
That book is why Christian Parker called. Pettine hired Parker as a defensive quality control coach in Green Bay in 2019, and the first-year Dallas coordinator reached out while Pettine was vacationing in Italy with his wife for his 60th birthday.
“When somebody you care about reaches out, I just felt I just needed to answer the call,” Pettine said. “I think I can help a lot.”
How he helps changed this week. Jerry Jones said Tuesday on 105.3 The Fan that Parker would move to the booth, but Parker said Thursday he will “most likely” stay on the sideline, according to CBS Sports. That leaves Pettine upstairs on Sundays as another set of eyes. Brian Schottenheimer added that “you’re not gonna see him on the field a whole lot.”
Parker is still the one making the calls, and Pettine knows their history lets him be blunt. “CP knows me well enough that when I say something, some other people might be a bit shocked by it,” he said.
There’s plenty to be blunt about. The Cowboys are 2-3 and rank 31st in yards allowed at 395.4 per game, last against the run at 168.4 and worst on third down at 52.6%. They have allowed 27.2 points per game, and they are still looking for their first interception. The move sounds an alarm about the defense five games into Parker’s tenure.
Pettine isn’t promising a quick fix. “One thing I learned a long time ago is football’s a game of a million little things,” he said.
He has seen this from a few angles. Pettine was the Browns’ head coach in 2014 and 2015, ran defenses for the Jets, Bills and Packers, and worked alongside Schottenheimer on Rex Ryan’s staff in New York. Around The Star in Frisco, that résumé carries some weight.
His first test comes at Lambeau Field, where he spent three seasons as defensive coordinator. Jordan Love threw for 367 yards last week against the Bears, and Dallas’ defense is a weakness Green Bay should exploit on Sunday night. If Pettine’s thick book can keep Parker’s defense from repeating the same mistakes, the thin one might start to grow.
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