Joe Whitt Jr. (born 1978) is an

American football American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team with ...

coach who is currently the secondary coach for the

Dallas Cowboys The Dallas Cowboys are a professional American football team based in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. The Cowboys compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East divisi ...

of the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the ...

(NFL). He previously was the defensive pass game coordinator and cornerbacks coach of the

Green Bay Packers The Green Bay Packers are a professional American football team based in Green Bay, Wisconsin. The Packers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. It ...

and secondary coach/pass game coordinator for the

Cleveland Browns The Cleveland Browns are a professional American football team based in Cleveland. Named after original coach and co-founder Paul Brown, they compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference ( ...

and for the

Atlanta Falcons The Atlanta Falcons are a professional American football team based in Atlanta. The Falcons compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) South division. The Falcons joined th ...

Coaching career

Whitt attended Auburn High School, graduating in 1997, and was a walk-on wide receiver for the

Auburn Tigers The Auburn Tigers are the athletic teams representing Auburn University, a public four-year coeducational university located in Auburn, Alabama, United States. The Auburn Tigers compete in Division I of the National Collegiate Athletic Associa ...

football team the following season before earning a scholarship. When an injury ended his playing career, Whitt became a student assistant at Auburn University. After completing a degree in communications in 2001, Whitt was hired as wide receivers coach at The Citadel before moving on to become cornerbacks coach and recruiting coordinator at the

University of Louisville The University of Louisville (UofL) is a public research university in Louisville, Kentucky. It is part of the Kentucky state university system. When founded in 1798, it was the first city-owned public university in the United States and one of ...

under head coach Bobby Petrino in 2003. In 2006, Whitt moved with Petrino to the Falcons.Green Bay Packers
Joe Whitt Jr.
retrieved July 27, 2014. Whitt Jr. spent time with the

in 2007 as an Assistant Defensive Backs coach.

Green Bay Packers

After the majority of the defensive coaching staff was fired after a disappointing 2008 season, he was one of only two defensive coaches retained by the Packers. It was then officially announced by the Packers that he was promoted from defensive quality control to cornerbacks coach on February 3, 2009. In the 2009 season, the Packers went 11-5 and made the NFC Wild Card. They would go on to lose to the

Arizona Cardinals The Arizona Cardinals are a professional American football team based in the Phoenix metropolitan area. The Cardinals compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) West division, and play t ...

45-51 in overtime. Under his coaching,

Charles Woodson Charles Cameron Woodson (born October 7, 1976) is a former American football defensive back who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 18 seasons with the Oakland Raiders and Green Bay Packers. He played college football at Mic ...

made the Pro Bowl, named 1st-team All-Pro, and was named the 2009 NFL Defensive Player of the Year as well as 2-time NFC Defensive Player of the Week and 3-time NFC Defensive Player of the Month. In the 2010 off-season, the Packers signed cornerback

Sam Shields Samuel George Shields III (born December 8, 1987) is a former American football cornerback. He played college football at the University of Miami. Shields was signed by the Green Bay Packers as an undrafted free agent in 2010. He won Super Bo ...

as an undrafted free agent. The Packers would go 10-6 and make the NFC Wild Card again in 2010, making the playoffs for the second year in a row. They would go on to beat

Michael Vick Michael Dwayne Vick (born June 26, 1980) is a former American football quarterback. Regarded as having transformed the quarterback position with his rushing abilities, he is the NFL leader in quarterback rushing yards and was the league's firs ...

Philadelphia Eagles The Philadelphia Eagles are a professional American football team based in Philadelphia. The Eagles compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East division. The team plays ...

, Matt Ryan's

, division rival

Chicago Bears The Chicago Bears are a professional American football team based in Chicago. The Bears compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) North division. The Bears have won nine NF ...

, and make the Super Bowl. They would beat the

Pittsburgh Steelers The Pittsburgh Steelers are a professional American football team based in Pittsburgh. The Steelers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) North division. Founded in , the Steel ...

31-25 to win the franchise's fourth Lombardi Trophy and the second time in NFL history a sixth seed won it all. Under his coaching,

made the Pro Bowl and was named 2nd-team All-Pro. Cornerback

Tramon Williams Tramon Vernell Williams Sr. (born March 16, 1983) is a former American football cornerback who played 15 seasons in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for Louisiana Tech, and was signed by the Houston Texans as an un ...

was later added as a reserve to the Pro Bowl. In the 2011 off-season, the Packers selected cornerback

Davon House Davon Thomas House (born July 10, 1989) is a former American football cornerback. He played college football at New Mexico State, and was drafted by the Green Bay Packers in the fourth round of the 2011 NFL Draft. He has also played for the Ja ...

in the fourth round (131st overall) of the

2011 NFL Draft The 2011 NFL Draft was the 76th installment of the annual NFL Draft, where the franchises of the National Football League select newly eligible football players. Like the 2010 draft, the 2011 draft was held at Radio City Music Hall in New York C ...

. The Packers went a franchise-best 15-1 in 2011, the fifth team in NFL history to due so, the last time was the 2004 Pittsburgh Steelers, winning the NFC North for the first time since 2007 and making the playoffs for the third year in a row. They would lose in the opening round 20-37 to the

New York Giants The New York Giants are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Giants compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East division. ...

. Under his coaching,

was named a Pro Bowler & 1st-team All-Pro. In the 2012 off-season, the Packers selected cornerback Casey Hayward in the second round (62nd overall) of the

2012 NFL Draft The 2012 NFL draft was the 77th annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible American football players for their rosters. The draft, which is officially called the "NFL Player Selection Meeting", was held ...

. The Packers would go 11-5 in 2012 and win the NFC North in back-to-back years for the first time since 2002-03. They would lose to the

San Francisco 49ers The San Francisco 49ers (also written as the San Francisco Forty-Niners) are a professional American football team based in the San Francisco Bay Area. The 49ers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the league's National ...

31-45 in the Divisional Round. During the 2013 season, the Packers went 8-7-1 and won the NFC North for the third straight year for the first time since 2002-04. They would lose to the

in the opening round. During the 2014 season, the Packers went 12-4 and won the NFC North for the fourth straight year for the first time in franchise history. They made the playoffs for the sixth year in a row, tying a franchise record set between 1993-98. They would lose to the

Seattle Seahawks The Seattle Seahawks are a professional American football team based in Seattle. The Seahawks compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) West, which they rejoined in 2002 as ...

in the NFC Championship Game. Under his coaching,

made the Pro Bowl. In the 2015 off-season the Packers would let corners

and

leave in free agency, so they drafted corners Damarious Randall (1st round, 30th pick) and

Quinten Rollins Quinten Benjamin Frederick Rollins (born July 15, 1992) is a former American football cornerback. He played one year of college football at Miami University, after playing four years of basketball. He was drafted by the Green Bay Packers in the ...

(2nd round, 62nd pick) in the

2015 NFL Draft The 2015 NFL Draft was the 80th annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible football players. It took place in Chicago at the Auditorium Theatre and in Grant Park, from April 30 to May 2. The previous ...

. They would go 10-6 in 2015 and make the NFC Wild Card, clinching the playoffs for a franchise record seven straight times. They would lose to the

in the Divisional Round. In 2016, the Packers went 10-6 and won the franchise's 9th NFC North title, making their 32nd playoff appearance. They would lose to the

in the NFC Championship game. In 2017, the Packers went 7-9, the first time out of the playoffs and a losing season since 2008. After spending 2018 as the Packers defensive passing game coordinator, they would miss the playoffs and head coach Mike McCarthy was fired. He would be dismissed on January 11, 2019.

Cleveland Browns

On January 16, 2019, Whitt was hired by the

. Serving as secondary coach and pass game coordinator, Whitt helped the Browns finish seventh in the league in pass defense.

Atlanta Falcons

On January 9, 2020, the

hired Whitt as secondary coach.

Dallas Cowboys

On January 13, 2021, the

hired Whitt as secondary coach and passing game coordinator, reuniting him with head coach Mike McCarthy and defensive coordinator Dan Quinn.

Personal life

Joe Whitt Jr. is the son of Joe Whitt Sr., a linebackers coach at

Auburn University Auburn University (AU or Auburn) is a public land-grant research university in Auburn, Alabama. With more than 24,600 undergraduate students and a total enrollment of more than 30,000 with 1,330 faculty members, Auburn is the second largest uni ...

.Auburn University
Joe Whitt
retrieved July 27, 2014.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Whitt, Joe Jr. Green Bay Packers coaches Auburn High School (Alabama) alumni Auburn Tigers football players Auburn Tigers football coaches The Citadel Bulldogs football coaches Louisville Cardinals football coaches Players of American football from Alabama Living people Atlanta Falcons coaches Cleveland Browns coaches American football wide receivers Sportspeople from Auburn, Alabama 1978 births Dallas Cowboys coaches