Packers To Hire Mike Pettine As DC

The Packers will hire former Browns head coach Mike Pettine as their next defensive coordinator, according to Adam Schefter of ESPN.com (Twitter link).Mike Pettine

Pettine interviewed to replace Dom Capers earlier today, and head coach Mike McCarthy didn’t let the ex-Jets/Bills defensive coordinator leave the building. A long-time Rex Ryan disciple who — like Capers — runs primarily a 3-4 scheme, Pettine will now head to Green Bay after not coaching in the NFL in 2017.

The Packers’ decision to hire Pettine could have effects for not only the rest of the Green Bay defensive staff, but the coordinator market as a while. As PFR’s 2018 Coordinator Tracker shows, the Packers had considered three internal candidates — Winston Moss, Darren Perry, and Joe Whitt — as DC options, and reports have indicated some or all of that trio could now leave Green Bay after being passed over for a promotion.

McCarthy & Co. had expressed interest in external candidates, as well, and were thought to have considered Bears DC Vic Fangio their top target. Fangio, who’s drawn interest from multiple clubs, now remains on the coaching market, as does Chargers DC Gus Bradley, another Green Bay candidate. Speculatively, Fangio’s reported price tag of $2MM+ could have played a factor in the Packers taking a pass.

Pettine, 51, was a star high school coach who rose the coordinator ranks to become head coach of the Browns in 2014. After posting a surprising 7-9 record in his debut campaign, Pettine’s Cleveland squad fell to 3-13 the following season, and Pettine wasn fired. He interviewed for the Redskins’ defensive play-calling job last January but lost out to Greg Manusky.

Now that he’s under contract, Pettine could act quickly to form the remainder of his staff, especially if Moss, Perry, or Whitt leave. Former Browns and 49ers defensive coordinator Jim O’Neil should be expected to land a role on Pettine’s new coaching unit, tweets Adam Caplan of ESPN.com.

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