Mike Pettine Hire Is the Wake-Up Call This Cowboys Defense Needed. Now Prove It at Lambeau

Brian Schottenheimer didn't wait for the season to slip away. After a 24-16 loss in Tampa that dropped Dallas to 2-3, he announced Monday that Mike Pettine is joining the staff as senior defensive assistant to support first-year coordinator Christian Parker.

Our Take: this is the right move, and the timing tells you how urgent it is.

The numbers, per CBS Sports, are ugly. Dallas is 26th in points allowed, 29th in yards per carry allowed and 32nd on third down, and it has allowed at least 20 points in all five games. Against the Bucs, Bucky Irving ran for a career-high 165 yards against this front. That can't happen.

Pettine is not a random name off a list. He gave Parker his first NFL job in Green Bay in 2019. He knows the 3-4 system Dallas runs, and he worked alongside Schottenheimer with the Jets when those defenses got within a game of the Super Bowl in 2009 and 2010. Schottenheimer framed it the right way: Pettine is "gonna be here in a role to support everything that CP is leading and guiding." This isn't a demotion for Parker. It's a veteran voice in the room with him.

The players did their part too. They held a players-only meeting Monday and put the blame on themselves, not the coaches. DeMarvion Overshown said, "the ship is only going to go as far as the weakest person on the boat." That's the right attitude. Getting Joey Porter Jr. back on the field after an illness kept him out Thursday would help as much as any meeting.

Now comes the test. Sunday night at Lambeau Field, against a Packers team coming off a 31-7 win over the Bears. Talk is cheap. If this defense is going to turn the corner, Sunday is the night to show it.

Sources: [CBS Sports](https://www.cbssports.com/nfl/news/cowboys-hire-mike-pettine-to-help-defense-christian-parker/), [DallasCowboys.com](https://www.dallascowboys.com/news/cowboys-add-mike-pettine-to-defensive-coaching-staff), [NFL.com](https://www.nfl.com/news/cowboys-add-veteran-coach-mike-pettine-as-they-search-for-answers-on-defense).