Dallas Cowboys coach Brian Schottenheimer said Wednesday that no final decision has been made on moving defensive coordinator Christian Parker from the sideline to the coaches’ booth, one day after owner and general manager Jerry Jones said publicly that the switch was happening.
“None of those decisions have been finalized,” Schottenheimer said at his Wednesday news conference. “There’s a good chance Christian is on the field.”
Schottenheimer said the staff will settle the setup during the week. Either Parker or Mike Pettine, the veteran coach Dallas added to the defensive staff on Monday, could be the one upstairs on game day. “I think there’s benefits to both,” he said.
“We have the right guy”
Whatever the game-day arrangement, Schottenheimer was clear about who runs the defense. “Christian Parker is our defensive coordinator, and all decisions will run through him,” he said, adding that there is no question in the building that Dallas has the right person in the job.
He described Pettine’s role as support rather than a takeover. “We’re not taking anything off of Christian Parker,” Schottenheimer said. “We’re adding a trusted friend, advisor and sounding board.”
Pettine, a former Cleveland head coach and longtime NFL defensive coordinator, gave Parker his first NFL job on his Green Bay staff in 2019. He came out of retirement to join the Cowboys after last week’s 24-16 home loss to Tampa Bay.
Jones said Parker was moving upstairs
Jones said during his weekly radio appearance on Tuesday that Parker would call the defense from the booth instead of the sideline going forward. Schottenheimer’s answer a day later stopped well short of confirming that, an unusual public split between the head coach and the owner on a coaching decision. Beat writer Todd Archer noted that the two had described the plan differently within 24 hours.
A defense under pressure
The Cowboys are 2-3, and the defense has been at the center of the frustration. Dallas ranks near the bottom of the league against the run, and the unit held a players-only meeting after the Tampa Bay loss. Parker, 34, is in his first season as an NFL coordinator after arriving from Philadelphia’s staff.
Schottenheimer also singled out rookie edge rusher Malachi Lawrence in Wednesday’s session as Dallas looks for more juice up front.
Next: Packers on Sunday night
Dallas visits the Green Bay Packers at Lambeau Field on Sunday night. Where Parker stands when the defense takes the field, on the sideline or in the box, will be the first visible answer to a question the head coach and the owner answered differently this week.
No published comments yet. Start the conversation.