Dallas is five weeks into a rough defensive start, but coordinator Christian Parker says bringing in the veteran coach was planned last winter, not a panic move.
The Dallas Cowboys are adding Mike Pettine to their defensive staff, and first-year coordinator Christian Parker wants everyone to know it isn't a rescue mission. Parker, 34, said he tried to bring Pettine on as an assistant and sounding board back when he was first hired as defensive coordinator last winter, but the timing didn't work out then.
"I don't really need to respond to it," Parker said of the idea that Pettine is being called in to save a woeful defense. "We know why. 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."
Pettine brings plenty of experience to the building. He was the head coach in Cleveland a decade ago and has spent 23 seasons in NFL coaching circles, most recently as an assistant head coach for the Vikings. Pettine said he had stepped away and stuck with that decision for a while before getting the call from Parker.
With Dallas now five weeks into a difficult defensive stretch, the pairing of a first-time coordinator and a seasoned former head coach will be watched closely as the Cowboys try to turn things around.