Joe Whitt comes to Dallas after serving in the same capacity with the Atlanta Falcons - under new Dallas Cowboys Defensive Coordinator Dan Quinn - last season. Whitt also worked under Head Coach Mike McCarthy (2008-18) while both were with the Green Bay Packers. Whitt brings with him 14 years of NFL coaching experience and five years at the collegiate level.
After getting his start in the NFL with the Falcons in 2007, Whitt returned to Atlanta in 2020 as the pass game coordinator/secondary coach after spending the 2019 season with the Cleveland Browns in the same capacity. His Cleveland unit ranked in the top-10 against the pass, allowing 216.9 yards-per-game (seventh). The Browns defense totaled 14 interceptions, tied for eighth in the NFL.
Before landing in Cleveland, Whitt was hired on McCarthy's staff to serve as a defensive quality control for the Packers in 2008. After one season in that capacity, Whitt was promoted to secondary/cornerbacks coach, a position he held for nine seasons (2009-17). He then became the team's defensive pass game coordinator for the 2018 season. Through his tenure in Green Bay, he helped the team win Super Bowl XLV, and he coached the Packers to a league-high 176 interceptions while ranking ninth in opponent passer rating (83.2). In the same span, the Packers ranked seventh in opponent completion percentage (59.8) and touchdown-to-interception ratio (1.34). He also saw cornerbacks Tramon Williams (18) and Sam Shields (15) combine for 33 interceptions from 2010-14, the most in the league during that time between two teammates. Whitt also helped Williams and Shields earn Pro Bowl selections. In Whitt's first three seasons as cornerbacks coach, the Packers led the NFL in interceptions twice (2009 and 2010), posting 85 total picks. It was the most by the Packers over a three-year period since 1943-45 (95) and the most by an NFL team since the Minnesota Vikings and San Francisco 49ers each posted 86 from 1986-88.
Whitt made his NFL coaching debut in Atlanta (2007) as the assistant defensive backs coach. He entered the NFL coaching ranks after a five-year stint in college football with The Citadel (wide receivers, 2002) and Louisville (cornerbacks, 2003-06).
Whitt played collegiately at Auburn as a walk-on wide receiver and eventually earned a scholarship. After suffering through injuries, he transitioned into a student assistant coach for his final two years of school and graduated in 2001 with a degree in communications.
