FRISCO, Texas — The Dallas Cowboys have hired Mike Pettine as a senior defensive assistant, coach Brian Schottenheimer announced Monday, adding a former NFL head coach and longtime defensive coordinator to support first-year defensive coordinator Christian Parker.
Pettine, 60, retired after the 2025 season, his fourth with the Minnesota Vikings as assistant head coach and outside linebackers coach. He was the Green Bay Packers’ defensive coordinator from 2018 to 2020, and he gave Parker his first NFL job as a defensive quality control coach in Green Bay in 2019. Pettine also coordinated the New York Jets’ defense from 2009 to 2012, when Schottenheimer was the Jets’ offensive coordinator for the first three of those seasons, ran the Buffalo Bills’ defense in 2013, and was the Cleveland Browns’ head coach in 2014 and 2015.
Dallas has allowed 136 points through five games, an average of 27.2 per game, after the Tampa Bay Buccaneers ran for 241 yards in a 24-16 win on Thursday night. Schottenheimer opened his Monday news conference with the announcement.
“I’m going to start with excited to announce we’ve added a new member to our defensive staff, senior defensive assistant Mike Pettine. Had a chance to work with Pet for a number of years along with the Jets. And he’s going to be here in a role to support everything that CP is leading and guiding. And really, really excited. They worked together in Green Bay,” Schottenheimer said. “And this is actually something that CP and I talked about. When we first hired him, we actually had two names. I’m not going to tell you the names that we talked to in the beginning. But those did not work out for different reasons. So we weren’t going to just add someone that didn’t make sense.”
Defensive tackle Kenny Clark and edge rusher Rashan Gary both played for Pettine in Green Bay. Schottenheimer also pointed to the Cowboys’ offensive staff, where Ken Dorsey serves in a similar role.
“I think Pet’s experience not only in football, but his experience in this system of what we do, his understanding of the 3-4 family. He has the awareness of some of our players, Kenny Clark, Rashan Gary. He was the coordinator when CP was there,” Schottenheimer explained. “So I think it’s just a great fit and a guy that certainly brings a bunch of experience to the entire staff, myself included. And if you think about it, we have someone like that on the offensive side with Ken Dorsey. And so very excited to having Pet join us.”
Why Brian Schottenheimer Made The Move Now
Schottenheimer said the Cowboys had been discussing the role for a long time, and that the hire was about convincing Pettine it made sense for him.
“I think, again, it’s something we’ve been talking about for a long time. 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,” Schottenheimer said. “And like I said, the most important thing for us was making sure we got the right guy, and I feel very, very confident that we did.”
Schottenheimer and Parker agreed in late February that they would not add someone just to add someone. The two candidates they first discussed did not work out.
“The two guys that we were talking to, it just didn’t work out for different reasons. And we weren’t going to just, CP and I are totally aligned on this. We were totally aligned on it in the beginning. I think that’s one of the things I love about Christian Parker is he’s very self-aware,” Schottenheimer said. “And we both agreed back in, whenever it was, late February, that we weren’t going to just bring somebody in to bring somebody in. We weren’t going to bring in a guy from a 4-3 defense.”
Pettine visited the Cowboys for a day in the spring. He recently returned from a vacation in Italy and was expected at the facility on Tuesday. The hire would have happened even if Dallas had won Thursday, Schottenheimer said.
“I believe so, yeah. I mean, I think it just took Pet saying that, yeah, this is something he wanted to do. I mean, and I guess maybe he ate too much food in Italy or whatever it was, and he said it’s time to get back to work,” Schottenheimer said. “So yeah, this is something that, again, we had talked about and we’re finally able to execute it with the right person. And I think that’s the thing that I want to keep emphasizing. He’s the right person in the right fit.”
Mike Pettine’s Role With Christian Parker
Pettine’s role on game days has not been set. He is an outside linebackers coach by trade, Schottenheimer said, and he has coached with Cowboys defensive line coach Marcus Dixon.
“He’s a front seven expert. I mean, that’s where, if you look at him, he’s an outside linebacker coach by trade. He’s been in the front seven, but a guy with that type of experience, he’s done it all. And that’s what I like about him,” Schottenheimer said. “And a very, very good communicator, very, very clear understanding. And again, what makes it work is he’s been to battle with the two big decision makers here, myself and Christian Parker.”
Schottenheimer said the person in the role matters as much as the role. The adviser has to be someone the coordinator and head coach trust.
“When you bring someone into this role, you want it to be someone that the coordinator, the coach, head coach trusts, because otherwise I could put two people in a room and say, OK, well, he’s in charge, but I want you to give him feedback. And if they don’t have any relationship, then how are they going to ever get anything done? And that doesn’t help anybody,” Schottenheimer said. “He’s a huge, huge, huge Christian Parker fan. He’s a huge fan of mine. We’ve bled together. We’ve been in battles together. And the guy’s an excellent, excellent football mind that will add value to really all three phases.”
Parker is in his first season as a coordinator, and Pettine is the coach who brought him into the NFL.
“I think communication is everything. And what I like about this marriage, I’ll say, is that, again, sometimes the student is the teacher and sometimes the teacher becomes a student. I think they just have a cool relationship. I remember sitting in meetings with them this spring when Pet came by and we were actually talking about some coverage variation things for us offensively,” Schottenheimer said. “He’s an expert in certain things that I want to know offensively. And so it’s that value that he brings, not just for helping support what Christian is leading over there on defense, but also another ways to attack different defenses. And he’s been with Brian Flores, he’s been with all these different Rex Ryans. I mean, he’s been with all these great defensive minds, and I think that’s a huge benefit for all of us.”
Cowboys owner and general manager Jerry Jones said after Thursday’s loss that he still believes Parker can turn the defense around. The Cowboys visit Green Bay on Sunday, Oct. 18 at Lambeau Field. Kickoff is set for 7:20 p.m. CT on NBC.
