Patriots to promote Demarcus Covington as next defensive coordinator
New England Patriots head coach Jerod Mayo has made his first major step forward in filling out his staff.
Defensive line coach Demarcus Covington will be promoted to defensive coordinator. The move was first reported by Albert Breer of MMQB. This is the first time since 2017 the Patriots have named a defensive coordinator.
“Coach Covington, he’s taught me a lot,” Mayo said to MassLive in 2022. “He’s climbed the ranks so he’s seen it all from drawing cards to running a room. He’s one of those guys that really tries to gain the heart, the mind and the soul of the players. I think all the guys respect him.”
Covington brings seven years of coaching experience. All of them have been with the Patriots. He started as a coaching assistant and then took on the role of the outside linebacker coach.
Covington moved to his current defensive line job in 2020. Since 2019, he has worked alongside new head coach Jerod Mayo.
It remains to be seen how the rest of the defensive staff will come together.
Mayo had conducted other interviews with three external young candidates for the defensive coordinator position. Panthers linebacker coach Temu Lukabu, Saints linebacker coach Michael Hodges, and Broncos defensive coach Christian Parker.
Any of those three could end up being candidates to fill other positions around Covington, although nothing else has been reported as such. Hodges in particular makes sense as he coached with Covington in the Shrine Bowl last offseason.
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