With their defense ranked at or near the bottom of the NFL in multiple categories, the Dallas Cowboys added veteran coach Mike Pettine as a senior defensive assistant on Monday.
Pettine, the former Cleveland Browns head coach and longtime NFL defensive assistant, is familiar with multiple members of the Cowboys’ coaching staff.
Pettine, 60, was on the New York Jets’ coaching staff from 2009-11 alongside Dallas head coach Brian Schottenheimer. A decade later, Pettine worked three years as the Green Bay Packers’ defensive coordinator, two of them alongside Christian Parker, who is now the Cowboys’ first-year defensive coordinator.
“It’s something we’ve been talking about for a long time,” Schottenheimer said of bringing in Pettine. “I think as we looked at everything, we had a chance to convince Pet that it made sense for him. I think he’s excited about coming in and adding experience and value. The most important thing for us was making sure we got the right guy. And I feel very, very confident that we did.”
Dallas has been nearly as poor on defense as last season, when that unit finished last in the NFL in scoring defense.
The Cowboys are worst in the NFL in rushing yards allowed per game (168.4) and opponents’ passer rating (120.5). They have yet to record an interception — the only team so far without one — and have only five sacks while allowing 27.2 points per game (26th out of 32 teams) and 395.4 yards per contest (31st).
The Cowboys replaced former defensive coordinator Matt Eberflus with Parker after last season.
Dallas is in the midst of a mini break after losing 24-16 to the visiting Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Thursday, a result that left the Cowboys with a 2-3 record.
Schottenheimer said Monday there would be on-field changes coming but declined to comment on them because of “competitive advantage.”
“There’ll be some roster adjustments that you guys will see,” Schottenheimer said. “Some will be more noticeable than others. Some will be subtle as you look at it. But it was a very beneficial weekend, I’ll say. A lot of long hours spent, a lot of long conversations, a lot of deep dives where we’re looking at everything from all three units.”
The Cowboys will visit the Green Bay Packers (3-2) on Sunday.
