Mike Pettine is starting to come under some pressure. The Green Bay Packers' defensive coordinator is drawing questions about his job status as the 2019 season winds down.

Jacob Westendorf of Dairy Land Express is one of the first to explicitly question whether the defensive coordinator might be on the hot seat. Among the chief concerns regarding the second-year defensive coordinator, is that his units tend to get worse as the season goes along.

Westendorf laid out his case, saying the defensive coordinator was a "breath of fresh air" at the beginning of last year.

Towards the end, though, Packers fans grew tired of the holes in his defense.

Of course, Green Bay had problems with the offense, as well. In fact, the problems with the offense were enough for the front office to make a change at head coach.

New year, same Pettine

Matt LaFleur was brought into Green Bay to turn the Packers around. So far, the team has done exactly that. The Pack are 8-3 on the season. They are atop the NFC Central. That's both a blessing and a curse for the Packers.

The winning record and the very good chance the Packers are headed to the playoffs. Westendorf points out the defense has been noticeably absent since week four. That could hamper the Packers' chances once they do make the playoffs.

What's worse than how bad the team has played on defense this season is that it's hard to spot a difference in how it played last year. As the columnist points out, the differences should be easier to spot.

When the Packers finished 28th in the NFL in DVOA last year, they did so mainly because the personnel simply weren't that good.

This year, the Green Bay Packers have better contributors on the defensive side of the ball. At least that was supposed to be the story with who they signed and traded for over the offseason.

Stats tell the story

This season, the Green Bay Packers are 28th in the NFL in yards allowed per game. Allowing 22 points per game, the Pack are more in the middle of the league in that category, but it's certainly not a strong showing for a team that has Super Bowl aspirations.

More worrying for Westendorf is that Green Bay has allowed less than 20 points just once in its last nine games. The team has managed thanks to an offense that is among the best in the league in scoring. The problem, as more than a few Green Bay Packers founds have found out, is that the offense is starting to struggle a bit of late.

The team has lost two of its last three. Those were 26-11 and 37-8 losses. Even the win that got mixed in there saw the team score just 24 points. If the Green Bay Packers start to lose more often or don't get far in the playoffs, Westendorf believes it will likely be because of the defense. If that's the case, he wants changes made and Mike Pettine to be shown the door.
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