GREEN BAY, Wis. – Mike Pettine didn’t have to go far to find his next job. The Chicago Bears hired the former Green Bay Packers defensive coordinator as a senior defensive assistant on Wednesday.
Pettine has spent the past three years in charge of the Packers defense, but was not hired after he let his contract expire after the 2020 season.
The Packers qualified ninth in total defense last season under Pettine, but a defensive breakdown towards the end of the first half in the NFC championship game in what coach Matt LaFleur called “a total communication failure” between him and Pettine on what the decision should have been on Tom Brady’s 39-yard touchdown pass with a second to go in the second quarter ultimately led to LaFleur’s decision to leave Pettine.
The Packers hired Joe Barry to replace Pettine.
Pettine, 54, never signed a contract extension that was offered to him after last season, which means he was in the final year of his contract, a source told ESPN after the season, making the separation cleaner. Most position coordinators and coaches always have two years in their dealings with the Packers, but Pettine chose to go to the last year of his contract and see how things went.
The Chicago Tribune reported last week that Bears coach Matt Nagy was inclined to hire a senior defense assistant to assist new coordinator Sean Desai. In Pettine, the Bears will not only have an experienced defensive coordinator, but also a former head coach (Pettine coached the Browns in 2014-15).
The Bears promoted Desai, who had been their security coach, to replace Chuck Pagano, who retired after the season.
The Bears on Wednesday also promoted Mike Snyder from offensive quality control coach to quality control coach / quarterback assistant and changed Henry Burris from Bill Walsh Coaching Fellow to offensive quality control coach.