Cowboys say giving Christian Parker a new assistant in Mike Pettine isn't about saving woeful D

FRISCO, Texas (AP) — Christian Parker had just been hired as a first-time defensive coordinator for the Dallas Cowboys when the 34-year-old wanted to add Mike Pettine as an assistant, confidant and sounding board last winter.

Now that Pettine is joining his staff with the Dallas defense five weeks into another woeful start, Parker won't concern himself with the perception that a longtime NFL coach is being called in to save the day.

“I don’t really need to respond to it,” Parker said. “We know why. He needed some time off himself. And so I think that was the main reason he didn’t get onboarded in the spring or the winter, whatever month it was. But the timing was right for both sides.”

Pettine, who was the head coach in Cleveland a decade ago, said Friday he stuck with his decision to retire after the last of four seasons with Minnesota in 2025 for family and health reasons. Those included spending time with aging parents, recovering from shoulder replacement surgery and welcoming a fifth grandchild.

The 60-year-old said his wife, Megan, suspected retirement might not last long. Sure enough, it ended soon after the couple spent three weeks in Italy.

“My wife, when we would tell people I'm retired, she would always add ‘ish’ on the end of it,” said Pettine, whose title is senior defensive assistant. “So I think she kind of knew.”

Pettine was the defensive coordinator in Green Bay when he played a role in plucking Parker from the college ranks in 2019. Pettine said they never really talked about an official role with the Cowboys when Pettine visited offseason workouts in the spring, because it was understood that he was retired.

The conversations continued, and then the Cowboys started the season looking shockingly similar on defense to a year ago. The 2025 unit was among the worst in the league, and Dallas fired defensive coordinator Matt Eberflus, who had a history with the franchise, after just one season.

“It’s been some tough circumstances,” Pettine said. “And like I said, when it’s somebody you care about, a friend that’s in need and asks for some help, you answer the call.”

Owner and general manager Jerry Jones said on his radio show early this week that Parker was moving from the sideline to the coaching booth. Parker contradicted that, saying he “most likely” would stay on the field.

Pettine seemed to confirm Parker sticking with the sideline by saying he planned to be in the press box, “as another set of eyes for stuff to him.” The Cowboys (2-3) play at Green Bay (3-2) on Sunday night.

The Cowboys lost their most recent game to previously winless Tampa Bay with undrafted rookie quarterback Jalon Daniels making his second start.

After throwing two interceptions in a 17-14 loss to the Packers, Daniels had a passer rating of 110.2 while the Bucs held the ball for almost 11 minutes on their first drive and gained a season-high 419 yards in a 24-16 victory over the Cowboys. Tampa Bay had 241 yards rushing.

Since it was a Thursday night game, Parker had all weekend to think about it.

“Lock yourself in the office and get to work,” Parker said. “You’re looking for answers, you’re looking for why. It’s an opportunity just like you would treat a bye week in terms of doing more self-scouting and looking at the whole scheme holistically, looking at personnel, looking at staff assignments during the week. Is there anything that we can tweak or change that’ll kind of serve us best moving forward?”

The addition of Pettine was more than a tweak, and coach Brian Schottenheimer didn't help the perception by saying on his radio show Friday that the new assistant reported to him, rather than Parker.

“I really didn't think about it because to me it was a very easy answer,” Schottenheimer said when asked to clarify later in the day. “When you're the head coach, coaches, they report to you. I don't think there's many structures in the league that are any different than that.”

Four days earlier, after announcing the addition of Pettine, Schottenheimer gave Parker his unequivocal support.

“Christian Parker’s our defensive coordinator and everything, all decisions will run through him,” Schottenheimer said. “We’re supporting him. I support him. I believe so strongly in the guy. I think the guy’s an incredible football coach. We have to coach better. We’ve got to play better. I think our players will be the first ones to say there’s things that they need to do better. There’s things I need to do better. And so no one is sitting here pointing fingers at Christian Parker.”

Pettine said he would be comfortable speaking his mind because Parker knows him and won't be shocked by anything he says, even if other coaches or players are. And Pettine was quick to say “support” when asked about his role.

“Clearly support, just to advise him,” Pettine said. “I think we’ll build a lot of the stuff together. We’ll game plan along with the staff. I just feel like my experience there, having gone against a lot these opponents over time and kind of built books on most of these offensive coordinators, just feel I’ll be able to help that way.”

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Mike Pettine, the Dallas Cowboys senior defensive assistant responds to questions during a news conference after a practice at the NFL football team's headquarters, Friday, Oct. 16, 2026, in Frisco, Texas. (AP Photo/Tony Gutierrez)

Christian Parker, left, the Dallas Cowboys defensive coordinator, talks with head coach Brian Schottenheimer, right, during practice at the NFL football team's headquarters, Friday, Oct. 16, 2026, in Frisco, Texas. (AP Photo/Tony Gutierrez)

Christian Parker, the Dallas Cowboys defensive coordinator, watches players warm up before a practice at the NFL football team's headquarters, Friday, Oct. 16, 2026, in Frisco, Texas. (AP Photo/Tony Gutierrez)

Mike Pettine, the Dallas Cowboys senior defensive assistant, responds to questions during a news conference after a practice at the NFL football team's headquarters, Friday, Oct. 16, 2026, in Frisco, Texas. (AP Photo/Tony Gutierrez)

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Trump administration is escalating its fight with California ahead of next month's midterm election, warning that local officials who process and tabulate ballots submitted by suspected noncitizen voters are putting themselves at risk of criminal investigation and potential prosecution.

The letter Friday from a senior Justice Department official and obtained first by The Associated Press is the latest salvo in an ongoing tussle with heavily Democratic California, coming just a day after the Trump administration sued the state to prevent it from counting mail ballots from people the federal government has identified as “likely” noncitizens until their immigration status can be confirmed.

“The legal consequences for either facilitating or ignoring a federal crime are significant. Noncitizen voting in a federal election is a federal crime — and knowingly facilitating such conduct is equally unlawful,” warns the letter from Trent McCotter, the acting deputy attorney general at the Justice Department.

It adds: “If persons knowingly tabulate ballots cast by individuals identified by federal agencies as noncitizens, they risk becoming aiders and abettors to a federal crime.”

The letter is addressed to the Los Angeles County Counsel's office and also is copied to California Secretary of State Shirley Weber and Los Angeles County Registrar Dean Logan, effectively putting the entire state on notice.

In response to the letter, Logan said his office is focused on conducting a fair and secure election while noting that Election Day is a mere 18 days away.

"The U.S. Department of Justice has chosen to litigate their unverified assertions of voting eligibility. At this point, it is best for this to be addressed in court,” he said.

The other offices and the state attorney general did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

It is unclear how many individuals the Justice Department might look to try to investigate and charge, though any federal criminal cases in the Los Angeles area would be handled by the office of Bill Essayli, the region's top federal prosecutor and one of the Justice Department officials who filed the federal complaint Thursday against California.

Sent less than three weeks before the Nov. 3 election, the letter adds to simmering tensions over voter rolls between California and the Justice Department and reflects the Trump administration's aggressive hunt for noncitizen voters. It has made the issue a priority this year, including by demanding detailed voter information — including dates of birth, addresses, driver’s license numbers and partial Social Security numbers — from the states.

The Justice Department has charged about 90 people for various types of election misconduct so far this year, including 50 who are alleged to have voted as noncitizens. There were more than 227 million registered voters in the United States during the 2024 presidential election.

In July, Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin sent letters to California, Nevada, New Jersey and Pennsylvania, alleging that as many as 250,000 noncitizens were registered in those states. Election officials there were skeptical of the claim, including Weber, the California secretary of state.

That same month, the Republican administration claimed Nevada had 1,500 noncitizen voters on its voter rolls. But after the federal government identified them to the state, the number of actual registered noncitizens turned out to be zero.

That experience is backed up by research and investigations in various states, which make clear that voting by noncitizens is extremely rare.

The Justice Department lawsuit was filed after California officials were given, and did not meet, a 48-hour deadline to review a password-protected thumb drive that contained a list of 20,000 names. The federal government says those are likely noncitizens who were sent ballots to participate in the Nov. 3 election, although the secretary of state said the administration has provided no evidence to support that claim. The state mails ballots to all registered voters.

Rick Hasen, a UCLA law professor, said the letter “ups the ante by threatening election officials with potential criminal prosecution.”

“It is deplorable that rather than work cooperatively and assist states in their election administration responsibilities, the federal government is making escalating threats and unreasonable demands beyond its power in the middle of an ongoing election,” he said.

Justin Levitt, a former deputy assistant attorney general who teaches at Loyola Law School in Los Angeles, dismissed the idea that an attempted prosecution of an election official using the letter’s rationale would hold up.

“Courts haven’t been buying what DOJ has been selling, and nothing in this letter is calibrated to change course,” he said. “Fortunately, election officials — not just in Los Angeles, but across the country — are equipped to stand up to aggressive bullying. And the law is on their side."

Over 23 million people are registered statewide, and a handful of competitive congressional races in other California districts could determine which party controls the U.S. House for the final two years of President Donald Trump’s term.

The Justice Department's escalating threats against California come as Democratic lawmakers are urging DOJ to honor its longstanding policy of not interfering in U.S. elections.

Earlier Friday, Sens. Alex Padilla, D-Calif., Sheldon Whitehouse, D-R.I., and Dick Durbin, D-Il., wrote to Attorney General Todd Blanche demanding that the Justice Department commit to not seizing ballots or other election materials before the midterm elections are certified.

Associated Press writers Michael R. Blood in Los Angeles and Ali Swenson in New York contributed to this report.

FILE - Ballots are sorted the day after California's primary election at the LA County Ballot Processing Center, June 3, 2026, in City of Industry, Calif. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong, File)

FILE - Ballots are sorted the day after California's primary election at the LA County Ballot Processing Center, June 3, 2026, in City of Industry, Calif. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong, File)