FRISCO, Texas — Dallas Cowboys defensive coordinator Christian Parker said Thursday that he will most likely stay on the sideline for Sunday night’s game at the Green Bay Packers, and that new senior defensive assistant Mike Pettine will be a sounding board who brings front-seven expertise to a staff led by a coordinator who came up coaching defensive backs.
Coach Brian Schottenheimer said Wednesday that no decision had been finalized, but that there was a good chance Parker would be on the field with Pettine up top. Parker said the idea of moving to the booth came from him, going back to training camp in Oxnard, California.
“Still working through some of that, but most likely going to be down still,” Parker said.
Why Christian Parker Prefers The Sideline
Each spot has its advantages, Parker said, and he has usually coached from the field.
“I mean, when you’re on the field, it’s the direct face-to-face communication with players and coaches with adjustments and things of that nature. When you’re up top, obviously you have a wider view, and it’s a little calmer up there when it comes to you have desk space, taking notes, kind of looking at the call sheet and things of that nature. So there’s advantages of both for sure, but I’ve always been a guy that’s usually been down on the field,” Parker explained.
A Front-Seven Right-Hand Man For A Back-End Coordinator
Pettine was one of Parker’s first calls when he got the Dallas job in January. Parker pointed to coordinators he worked under who had an experienced right-hand man, and said a back-end coach like himself wants a front-end coach to balance it out.
“I’ve been on a couple of staffs. In Denver, [Vic Fangio] had Dom Capers. Vance Joseph had Joe Vitt. Most either first-time or young coordinators, even older coordinators, have kind of that right-hand man with them. Usually somebody who’s on a different part of the expertise,” Parker said. “Me being a back-end guy, you want a front-end guy to kind of balance that out.”
How Mike Pettine’s Hire Came Together
Pettine had coached for 30-plus straight years and needed time away, Parker said. The two talked last week after Pettine returned from a trip for his 60th birthday, and again after the Tampa Bay game.
“He needed some time off himself. And so I think that was the main reason he didn’t get onboarded in the spring or the winter, whatever month it was. But the timing was right for both sides,” Parker said. “It really started, we had a conversation even after the Tampa Bay game. We were just talking. And then as the day went on, we figured out that we could kind of do this in a formal way. He’s always been heavily invested in me and my career overall since we were together in Green Bay.”
Pettine hired Parker as a quality control coach in Green Bay in 2019, when Parker was a graduate assistant at Texas A&M. Parker said Pettine will bring a clean set of eyes to the front seven.
“It’s always good when you have a clean set of eyes to kind of look at things in that regard in anything you do. And I think he provides that. He’s not in the room with those guys every single day. So he’s kind of looking at a bird’s eye view in the front seven. That’s his area of expertise. That’s where he lives,” Parker said. “Just like we talked about adding good players, you always want to add good coaches if you can.”
Parker Puts His Own Late Calls On The List Of Self-Inflicted Wounds
The first five games have been full of self-inflicted wounds, Parker said, including his own work getting calls in on time. He called the issues very fixable.
“I think overall just some uncharacteristic things going from the spring to training camp that we didn’t really do. Relative to whether it’s execution, whether it’s the fundamental detail, me in terms of getting a call in on time, things like that, some things were not as just as buttoned up, and you didn’t really see that coming just based off the performance previously. So I think that’s when you got to step back and figure, okay, how can we get back to what we were doing in that mode?” Parker said. “Sometimes what happens, you get into a season and you’re so worried about the opponent where you got to worry about yourself and what you’re doing internally. It’s been a lot of self-inflicted wounds these first five games by us, things that are fully under our control. And that’s when you kind of got to get back to your habits and your process to turn those things around.”
Kickoff at Lambeau Field is set for 7:20 p.m. CT on Sunday, Oct. 18, on NBC.
