Sons of Coaches

Mike Pettine Jr.

Pettine Jr. to lead Jets D

By Steve Sherman; Sports Editor

Former Bucks County varsity football coach Mike Pettine Jr. was recently hired to lead the New York Jets defense.
A former CB West High School football coach from 1988-92, Pettine was hired by recently named Jets head coach Rex Ryan, who as the Baltimore Ravens defensive coordinator, listed Pettine as his right-hand man.
Pettine had been the outside linebackers coach for the Ravens since 2005. Ryan is the son of former Philadelphia Eagles head coach Buddy Ryan. That both are sons of famous coaches - albeit at different levels - was enough to bond the two together, says Pettine.
“Both of us being coaches’ kids, I think we both developed that gym rat mentality for football,” says Mike. “We shared a lot of philosophies when it came to football — everything from how to teach a certain technique to getting off blocks, to what to call in certain situations, when to be aggressive, when not to be aggressive.”
Hired by Baltimore as an assistant in video operations in 2002, Pettine was promoted to defensive assistant, helping Ryan coach the Ravens D-line in 2004.
Pettine has been Baltimore’s linebackers coach for the last four seasons. In 2006, four Ravens linebackers made it to the Pro Bowl including Ray Lewis, Bart Scott, Adalius Thomas, and Terrell Suggs.
Baltimore was ranked among the top five teams in points allowed last season. The Ravens were tops in sacks.
Pettine was all-state as a quarterback and defensive back at CB West from where he graduated in 1984. From 1988 to ’92, he coached the Bucks, winning a state trophy in 1991.
While Ryan made a name for himself coaching Reggie White and company as what was then perhaps the most feared defense in the NFL, Mike Pettine Sr. led CB West at the high school level.
Pettine Sr. took the Bucks to new heights from there, leading West to state title wins in 1997, ‘98 and ‘99. In 1999, with a 30-game win streak on the line, he faced his son - who’d taken over at North Penn - in a district playoff game.
The battle is the topic of the movie “The Last Game.”
Pettine Sr. produced a 326-42-4 record in 33 seasons as head coach at CB West.
In addition to his tenure at North Penn (97-2001), Mike Pettine Jr. also worked various coaching positions at the University of Pittsburgh (1993-94) and William Tennent (1995-96). In college, at the University of Virginia, Mike was a 2-year letterman at free safety (1986-87) under head coach George Welsh.