The 60-year-old joins first-year coordinator Christian Parker, whom he once hired as an assistant in Green Bay back in 2019.
The Cowboys are calling in reinforcements. Dallas announced Monday that longtime NFL coach Mike Pettine is joining the staff as a senior defensive assistant, brought in to support defensive coordinator Christian Parker after a rough start to the season.
The hire is less a shakeup than a reunion. Pettine, 60, hired Parker for his first NFL job back in 2019 when the two were on staff together with the Green Bay Packers. Head coach Mike Schottenheimer said the connection made the move an easy call, noting he had worked with Pettine previously as well, including time together with the Jets.
Schottenheimer framed Pettine's role as purely supportive, there to back Parker rather than take over any duties. He called Pettine a trusted friend and said the two had already discussed the idea before it came together.
Parker is in his first season as Dallas' defensive coordinator, and the unit's early struggles have put him under scrutiny. The Cowboys are betting that an experienced voice with a prior relationship to Parker can speed up the fixes without disrupting the chain of command.