LaFleur Replacing Pettine as Defensive Coordinator

Mike Pettine’s defense was good enough to help the Packers get to NFC Championship Games the past two seasons. He will not get another shot.

GREEN BAY, Wis. – When Matt LaFleur was named Green Bay Packers coach in January 2019, he retained Mike Pettine as his defensive coordinator.

Pettine’s defense was good enough to help the Packers get to NFC Championship Games the past two seasons. He will not get another shot.

A source confirmed the NFL Network report that Pettine will not be retained by LaFleur. As reported by ESPN.com’s Rob Demovsky, Pettine didn’t sign a contract extension after last season, so he was operating under an expiring contract.

With that, a team coming off back-to-back 13-3 seasons will have two new coordinators. Maurice Drayton, who comes with strong recommendations, is replacing Shawn Mennenga on special teams. Only offensive coordinator Nathaniel Hackett will return to his post.

Internal candidates would include defensive backs coach Jerry Gray, a two-time defensive coordinator for Buffalo and Tennessee, and outside linebackers coach Mike Smith, who was believed to be in the running to be Kansas City's defensive coordinator in 2019 but bolted for Green Bay when he did not get that position.

LaFleur will address the decision, and other topics, during his season-ending news conference on Monday morning.

Pettine put together a solid resume but the signature performances were more black eyes than shining moments. In 2019, the Packers finished ninth in points allowed, their best showing since winning the Super Bowl in 2010. In 2020, they finished ninth in total defense (yards allowed), also their best showing since 2010.

However, at the most crucial times, his unit wasn’t good enough. In the NFC Championship Game in 2019, San Francisco running back Raheem Mostert ran for 220 yards and four touchdowns. In this year’s championship game, the Buccaneers scored three touchdowns in five first-half possessions, including the infamous 39-yard touchdown pass to Scotty Miller just before halftime.

While having struggling Kevin King playing man-to-man coverage against the fastest man on the field just before halftime was Pettine’s fault, some of the shortcomings can be blamed on personnel.

From 2017 through 2019, inside linebacker Blake Martinez led the NFL in tackles. However, he wasn’t a game-changing performer. So, following the 2019 season, they let him sign with the Giants. Rather than making a bold move to replace him, general manager Brian Gutekunst took a shot on veteran Christian Kirksey and moved up in the first round to select quarterback Jordan Love rather than linebacker Patrick Queen. By season’s end, Kirksey was in a part-time role and undrafted rookie Krys Barnes–broken thumb and all–was in the every-down role.

With an undermanned defensive line–Kenny Clark being the obvious exception–and the lack of quality inside linebackers, Pettine was always facing an uphill battle to stop the run.

Stopping the pass should have been a strength, with a multitude of resources poured into pass rushers and cornerbacks. Over the last six drafts, five cornerbacks were selected in the first two rounds. While 2018 first-rounder Jaire Alexander is a star, Damarious Randall (first round, 2015) and Quinten Rollins (second round, 2015) are long gone. King (second round, 2017) has been an injury-prone disappointment and Josh Jackson (second round, 2018) was inactive for both playoff games.

Nonetheless, Pettine’s unit rounded into form down the stretch. Over the last five weeks of the regular season, Green Bay was fourth in points allowed, fourth in opponent passer rating and 11th in yards per rushing attempt. The strong play continued with a 32-18 victory over the Rams in the divisional playoffs. Even in the championship game, it intercepted Tom Brady three times, but the three early touchdowns and woeful third-down defense contributed to the disappointing defeat.

“We’re certainly a lot closer to what we want it to look like,” Pettine said before the playoffs. “We’re always striving. The bar is set extremely high and we’re always striving for it. Of course, we feel like we’ve progressed, we’ve trended in the right direction. But you’re only as good as your last performance.”

Pettine’s last performance the past two seasons was enough to bring about change.