Cowboys add Mike Pettine to staff after rough start for new defensive coordinator Christian Parker

FRISCO, Texas (AP) — The Dallas Cowboys are bringing former NFL coach Mike Pettine out of retirement to serve as a senior assistant to defensive coordinator Christian Parker, whose debut in his new position is off to a rough start.

Cowboys coach Brian Schottenheimer said Monday that he and Parker talked to Pettine about joining the staff when he was visiting the 34-year-old Parker in the spring. Pettine chose to stick with the retirement that had been announced a few weeks earlier.

While Schottenheimer and Parker had been discussing for some time the possibility of providing a veteran voice for the young coach, Schottenheimer said they were only going to do it with who they felt was the right person.

The move comes after Dallas lost to Tampa Bay 24-16 when the Buccaneers were starting undrafted free agent quarterback Jalon Daniels in place of Baker Mayfield.

The Cowboys gave up a season-high 419 yards to the Bucs and are at or near the bottom in most defensive categories, just as they were last season when they fired Matt Eberflus after just one year.

Owner Jerry Jones said after the loss the Cowboys were “right where we started relative to our defense.”

Schottenheimer said the hiring of Pettine would have happened regardless of the outcome against Tampa Bay, which dropped Dallas to 2-3 heading into a visit to Green Bay on Sunday night.

“It just took (Pettine) saying this was something he wanted to do,” Schottenheimer said. “I guess maybe he ate too much food in Italy or whatever it was and wanted to get back to work. This is something we had talked about and were finally able to execute it with the right person. That's the thing I want to keep emphasizing.”

Pettine, who turned 60 last month, spent the past four seasons on the defensive staff of the Minnesota Vikings. He worked with Parker in Green Bay, where Pettine was the defensive coordinator from 2018-20.

Pettine was head coach in Cleveland in 2014-15, going 10-22 and getting fired after a 3-13 season. Before the Browns hired him, Pettine was the defensive coordinator for a year in Buffalo, where he went after four seasons in that role with the New York Jets.

Schottenheimer spent six seasons as the offensive coordinator of the Jets from 2006-11, the last three of those with Pettine running the New York defense.

“This is a trusted friend to myself, a trusted friend to Christian,” Schottenheimer said. “What I'm so excited about it is the fit. The fit makes a lot of sense because he's coming into a situation where he's going to be very, very comfortable and therefore can help us very quickly.”

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