Mike Pettine Is Joining a Cowboys Defense Ranked 31st in the League, Can He Turn It Around?

The Dallas Cowboys are making moves, bringing in Mike Pettine as a senior defensive assistant. This isn’t just a routine hire, especially when you look at how bad their defense has been through the first five games, with the team sitting at a disappointing 2-3 after their loss to the Buccaneers last Thursday.

Dallas’s D Is Bleeding Yards and Points

Head coach Brian Schottenheimer confirmed the hire Monday, and it feels like a big signal. The Cowboys defense is just plain struggling. They’re ranked a dismal 26th in points allowed across the league and an even worse 31st in total yards allowed this season. That’s almost dead last, folks! When your defense is giving up that much, you’ve got to shake things up, and bringing in a veteran like Pettine screams they know they have a serious problem on their hands.

Pettine’s Got History With Schottenheimer and Parker

This isn’t Pettine’s first rodeo, and he’s got some familiar faces in the building. He’s worked with both Schottenheimer, who ran the Jets offense from 2009-2012 while Pettine was their defensive coordinator for the first three of those years. Plus, he’s got history with current Cowboys defensive coordinator Christian Parker. Parker was a quality control coach for the Green Bay Packers during Pettine’s last two years as their defensive coordinator from 2018-2020. Pettine’s resume also includes running the Bills defense, serving as the Browns’ head coach in 2014 and 2015, and most recently being the assistant head coach and outside linebackers coach for the Minnesota Vikings before he left after the 2025 season. This dude knows defense, and the Cowboys need all the help they can get.

The Cowboys are clearly trying to right the ship after a rough 2-3 start and a defense that’s letting opponents carve them up. With Pettine on board, all eyes will be on whether this veteran defensive mind can really spark a turnaround and get that unit playing like a legitimate NFL defense. It’s a huge challenge, but Dallas desperately needs it.

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Originally reported by Pro Football Talk.