Defensive Coordinator Mike Pettine‘s contract with the Green Bay Packers will not be extended and he will not be with the team in 2021.
#Packers DC Mike Pettine’s contract is expiring and he will not return in 2021, source said.
— Tom Pelissero (@TomPelissero) January 29, 2021
Green Bay Packers Will Not Bring Back Mike Pettine
Originally announced by Tom Pelissero of the NFL Network, it was later confirmed by the Packers in a statement on Friday afternoon, head coach Matt LaFleur said of the decision “We want to thank Mike for his commitment to the Packers for the last three seasons. He was an important part of our success. As a first-time head coach, he was also an invaluable resource for us during our time together.”
Mike Pettine, who has been the Green Bay Packers’ defensive coordinator since 2018 following the firing of Dom Capers by former head coach Mike McCarthy, will not have his contract with the team renewed heading into the 2021 season. While the Packers defense did improve towards the end of the 2020 season, eventually ending up as the 13th best defense in terms of Points Per Game and ninth in Yards Per Game. Still, the decision has been made, after losing their fourth NFC Championship game in seven years and the second in consecutive years with Pettine as defensive coordinator, to move on from the 54-year-old who’s now out of contract.
The Packers defense kept letting the team down for most of the season, only showing the signs of turning around in the final few games. Still, they ultimately ended up breaking when it mattered most, letting up and costing the team in the first half of the 2020-21 NFC Championship game, most evident in the hail mary at the very end of the first half.
The Packers will now be on the market for their next defensive coordinator, who the Packers will hope can help them over that final hurdle as their championship window begins to close.
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