Cowboys say giving Christian Parker a new assistant in Mike Pettine isn’t about saving woeful D

FRISCO, Texas (AP) — Christian Parker had just been hired as a first-time defensive coordinator for the Dallas Cowboys when the 34-year-old wanted to add Mike Pettine as an assistant, confidant and sounding board last winter.

Now that Pettine is joining his staff with the Dallas defense five weeks into another woeful start, Parker won’t concern himself with the perception that a longtime NFL coach is being called in to save the day.

“I don’t really need to respond to it,” Parker said. “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, who was the head coach in Cleveland a decade ago, said Friday he stuck with his decision to retire after the last of four seasons with Minnesota in 2025 for family and health reasons. Those included spending time with aging parents, recovering from shoulder replacement surgery and welcoming a fifth grandchild.

The 60-year-old said his wife, Megan, suspected retirement might not last long. Sure enough, it ended soon after the couple spent three weeks in Italy.

“My wife, when we would tell people I’m retired, she would always add ‘ish’ on the end of it,” said Pettine, whose title is senior defensive assistant. “So I think she kind of knew.”

Pettine was the defensive coordinator in Green Bay when he played a role in plucking Parker from the college ranks in 2019. Pettine said they never really talked about an official role with the Cowboys when Pettine visited offseason workouts in the spring, because it was understood that he was retired.

The conversations continued, and then the Cowboys started the season looking shockingly similar on defense to a year ago. The 2025 unit was among the worst in the league, and Dallas fired defensive coordinator Matt Eberflus, who had a history with the franchise, after just one season.

“It’s been some tough circumstances,” Pettine said. “And like I said, when it’s somebody you care about, a friend that’s in need and asks for some help, you answer the call.”

Owner and general manager Jerry Jones said on his radio show early this week that Parker was moving from the sideline to the coaching booth. Parker contradicted that, saying he “most likely” would stay on the field.

Pettine seemed to confirm Parker sticking with the sideline by saying he planned to be in the press box, “as another set of eyes for stuff to him.” The Cowboys (2-3) play at Green Bay (3-2) on Sunday night.

An inexplicable loss

The Cowboys lost their most recent game to previously winless Tampa Bay with undrafted rookie quarterback Jalon Daniels making his second start.

After throwing two interceptions in a 17-14 loss to the Packers, Daniels had a passer rating of 110.2 while the Bucs held the ball for almost 11 minutes on their first drive and gained a season-high 419 yards in a 24-16 victory over the Cowboys. Tampa Bay had 241 yards rushing.

Since it was a Thursday night game, Parker had all weekend to think about it.

“Lock yourself in the office and get to work,” Parker said. “You’re looking for answers, you’re looking for why. It’s an opportunity just like you would treat a bye week in terms of doing more self-scouting and looking at the whole scheme holistically, looking at personnel, looking at staff assignments during the week. Is there anything that we can tweak or change that’ll kind of serve us best moving forward?”

The addition of Pettine was more than a tweak, and coach Brian Schottenheimer didn’t help the perception by saying on his radio show Friday that the new assistant reported to him, rather than Parker.

“I really didn’t think about it because to me it was a very easy answer,” Schottenheimer said when asked to clarify later in the day. “When you’re the head coach, coaches, they report to you. I don’t think there’s many structures in the league that are any different than that.”

A show of support

Four days earlier, after announcing the addition of Pettine, Schottenheimer gave Parker his unequivocal support.

“Christian Parker’s our defensive coordinator and everything, all decisions will run through him,” Schottenheimer said. “We’re supporting him. I support him. I believe so strongly in the guy. I think the guy’s an incredible football coach. We have to coach better. We’ve got to play better. I think our players will be the first ones to say there’s things that they need to do better. There’s things I need to do better. And so no one is sitting here pointing fingers at Christian Parker.”

Pettine said he would be comfortable speaking his mind because Parker knows him and won’t be shocked by anything he says, even if other coaches or players are. And Pettine was quick to say “support” when asked about his role.

“Clearly support, just to advise him,” Pettine said. “I think we’ll build a lot of the stuff together. We’ll game plan along with the staff. I just feel like my experience there, having gone against a lot these opponents over time and kind of built books on most of these offensive coordinators, just feel I’ll be able to help that way.”

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