You may have noticed that former Philadelphia Eagles passing game coordinator/defensive backs coach Christian Parker is off to a rough start as the Dallas Cowboys’ defensive coordinator.
Here’s how the Cowboys’ defense ranks in a number of metrics exiting Week 5:
- 31st in yards allowed per game (395.4)
- 26th in offensive points allowed per game (27.2)
- 32nd in EPA per play
- 32nd in success rate
Yikes.
Given these struggles, the Cowboys are reportedly hiring a more experienced assistant to pair with Parker as a first-time play-caller: Mike Pettine.
And not only are they bringing the Bucks County, Pennsylvania native into the fold. But
the Cowboys are also moving Parker from his normal role on the sideline to the booth.
It’s hard to look at this setup and not think back to when the Eagles bizarrely decided to put Matt Patricia in charge of their defense mid-stream during the 2023 season, effectively demoting Sean Desai in the process without actually formally doing so.
That setup ended up being an abject disaster for the Eagles, who historically collapsed at the end of that season.
Maybe this approach will go better for the Cowboys given that Parker and Pettine actually have experience working together. Ed Werder offered some more insight on this move:
The Cowboys are carefully representing the hiring of Pettine as someone who is here to support Christian Parker and offer advice based on his experience. But NFL coaches I’ve spoken to who know Pettine and the dynamics of the situation with the Cowboys believe the more influence and responsibility Pettine has, the better for the team.
One HC who had Pettine on his staff: “They finally hired a real coach. Pettine is legit. Dallas will walk away with that division now.”
But maybe not and we can all laugh at the Cowboys for being such a mess.
If Parker does eventually end up getting canned by the Cowboys, which is the fate that Desai met after the 2023 season, it’ll be interesting to see what’s next for him. He had a lot of success in Philly as an assistant coach, which is what landed him his current job. There was some thought the Eagles viewed him as a potential Vic Fangio successor. But that may no longer be the case.
Something to monitor!
