Vikings Defensive Coach Calls It Quits
After 23 years in the NFL, Minnesota Vikings outside linebackers coach and assistant head coach Mike Pettine is retiring. His boss, Kevin O’Connell, held a year-end press conference on Tuesday, and among many topics, O’Connell announced Pettine’s retirement.
Pettine’s exit adds another moving piece on a defense already facing uncertainty, and Minnesota now has to fill an experience-heavy role.
Pettine broke into the pros in 2022 as an assistant on the Baltimore Ravens‘ staff, and he’ll end with the other purple team.
Pettine’s Retirement Creates Another Vacancy
Minnesota will need a new coach.
Pettine Hangs It Up
O’Connell made Pettine’s retirement the first major announcement of his press conference.
The skipper delivered the news and added, “What a career he has had. Specifically for me, his impact on my football journey, both my time when I was around him as a player, to him giving me the first opportunity to coach in this league, and then being a major part of a lot of our success over the four years we’ve had (in Minnesota).
“Want to take the moment to make sure we celebrate him and the great career it’s been.”
Attached to the Vikings since 2022
O’Connell and Pettine go back over 10 years, with Pettine hiring O’Connell in Cleveland to give him his first exposure to NFL coaching. In 2022, O’Connell returned the favor. One of his first orders of business as the Vikings’ skipper was to hire Pettine as the assistant head coach, a role he held through the end of 2025.
In 2024, Pettine also took on the role of outside linebackers coach, so he had dual citizenship in Minnesota — an EDGE whisperer and a close advisor to O’Connell.
Another perk accompanied Pettine’s arrival. He served as the Green Bay Packers‘ defensive coordinator for three seasons under Mike McCarthy. Fans invited the turncoat hire in 2022 because his reputation in Green Bay was still pretty fresh.
Packers Wire‘s Zach Kruse wrote about Pettine’s retirement, “Under Pettine, the Packers improved drastically from 2018 to 2019 and had a top 10 finish in scoring defense and takeaways Year 2, but Green Bay got run over to end the postseason, allowing 285 rushing yards in a loss in the NFC Championship Game in San Francisco.”
“A year later, the Packers fell to 13th in scoring defense but still returned to the NFC Championship Game, where Pettine’s defense delivered three interceptions of Tom Brady but also allowed 31 points, including a long touchdown pass late in the first half, in a defeat. Kenny Clark, Za’Darius Smith and Jaire Alexander all made Pro Bowls while playing for Pettine in Green Bay.”
Smith followed Pettine to the Vikings in 2022 and stuck around for one year.
Kruse added, “The son of a legendary Pennsylvania high school coach, Pettine joined the NFL as an assistant under Ryan with the Baltimore Ravens in 2001. He spent his first eight seasons in Baltimore before following Ryan to New York, where the Jets had the NFL’s No. 1 scoring defense in 2009.”
NFL Resume
Here’s Pettine’s full NFL resume for the last two-plus decades:
Baltimore Ravens (2002–2003)
— Coaching assistant
Baltimore Ravens (2004)
— Assistant defensive line coach
Baltimore Ravens (2005–2008)
— Outside linebackers coach
New York Jets (2009–2012)
— Defensive coordinator
Buffalo Bills (2013)
— Defensive coordinator
Cleveland Browns (2014–2015)
— Head coach
Seattle Seahawks (2017)
— Consultant
Green Bay Packers (2018–2020)
— Defensive coordinator
Chicago Bears (2021)
— Senior defensive assistant
Minnesota Vikings (2022–2023)
— Assistant head coach
Minnesota Vikings (2024–2025)
— Assistant head coach/OLB coach
Pettine proved to be unsuccessful as the Browns’ head coach in 2014 and 2015, tabulating a 10-22 (.313) record — the Johnny Manziel and Josh McCown era. McCown is now the Vikings’ quarterback coach.
A Defense with Big Offseason Questions
Pettine’s departure can be added to the growing list of Vikings-themed defensive questions. The list looks like this as of mid-January.
- Will Brian Flores return to his defensive coordinator post, or will he accept a head coaching job with the Pittsburgh Steelers, Baltimore Ravens, or Las Vegas Raiders?
- If Flores leaves, who will replace him as the DC?
- Will defensive passing game coordinator Daronte Jones land a defensive coordinator job with the Dallas Cowboys or New York Jets, two spots where he’s interviewed?
- Who will replace Pettine?
- Will Harrison Smith retire?
- Who replaces Smith, if so?
- Will the Vikings finally draft a productive cornerback after a 10-year drought?
Minnesota’s offseason will be busy, and the defensive side of the operation could undergo a massive overhaul, especially at the leadership level.
Pettine will turn 60 in September.
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