5 Things to Know About Assistant Head Coach Mike…

Football runs in the Pettine family.

His father, the late Mike Pettine, Sr., remains highly regarded in Pennsylvania for compiling a record of 326-42-4 – and winning four state championships – in 33 seasons as head coach at Central Bucks High School West.

Pettine played quarterback and defensive back at Central Bucks West before transitioning solely to free safety at the University of Virginia.

Before starting in the NFL as a coaching assistant with the Ravens in 2002, Pettine also coached high school football, spending 1988-92 as an assistant at Central Bucks West, 1995-96 at William Tennent and 1997-2001 at North Penn. He was a graduate assistant at Pittsburgh from 1993-94.

Pettine’s father passed away suddenly in February 2017.

“He was real big on ‘Don’t tell somebody great job if it wasn’t a great job. Let’s not call good great. Let’s not accept mediocrity,’ ” Pettine said of advice he gleaned from his father.

3. Took a 2-year ‘sabbatical’

After Pettine was relieved of his duties in Cleveland in January 2016, he intentionally spent five months away from the game entirely. And he took two years off from coaching before being hired as the Packers defensive coordinator in 2018.

Pettine reevaluated during the “sabbatical” of sorts and “took an assortment of odd jobs” during the 2016 season. He watched film for Rex Ryan, in his final season with the Bills, and in 2017 Pettine worked remotely as a consultant for the Seahawks.