Report: Former Browns HC Mike Pettine to Become Packers Defensive Coordinator
The Packers are set to hire Mike Pettine as their defensive coordinator, reports ESPN's Adam Schefter.
Pettine, 51, was defensive coordinator of the Jets (2009-12) and Bills (2013) before he became the Browns' head coach prior to the 2014 season. He went 7-9 in his first year in Cleveland but was fired after a 3-13 season in 2015. He worked this season as a consultant for the Seahawks.
Pettine replaces Dom Capers, who was fired after spending nine seasons as Green Bay's defensive coordinator. He joins a new-look Packers staff, as head coach Mike McMcarthy has shaken things up after Green Bay missed the playoffs for the first time since 2008.
Offensive coordinator Edgar Bennett will not return to the team, and many of his duties are expected to be taken up by Joe Philbin. Philbin previously spent nine years with Green Bay—including five as offensive coordinator—before he left in 2012 to become the Dolphins' head coach. Also departing Green Bay are quarterbacks coach Alex Van Pelt and Luke Getsy, who left to become the offensive coordinator at Mississippi.
The task for Pettine will be to turn around a defensive unit that struggled in 2017. The Packers gave up 24 points per game (26th in the NFL) en route to a 7-9 finish.
