Report: Cardinals Request to Interview Patriots DL Coach DeMarcus Covington for DC Job

The Arizona Cardinals are set to interview New England Patriots defensive line coach DeMarcus Covington for their open defensive coordinator role.

Ryan Sanudo | Feb 17, 2023

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Arizona Cardinals

A day after the Arizona Cardinals introduced Jonathan Gannon as their head coach, the team is working towards building their coaching staff.

That means adding a defensive coordinator since the Cardinals released Vance Joseph on Thursday.

The Cardinals have reportedly requested to interview New England Patriots defensive line coach DeMarcus Covington for their vacant defensive coordinator position, according to NFL Media's Ian Rapoport.

Rapoport adds that Covington and Cardinals' new general manager Monti Ossenfort have a connection due to their time together from 2017-19.

#Patriots DL coach DeMarcus Covington was requested by the #AZCardinals for their defensive coordinator position under Jonathan Gannon, source said. Just 33, Covington is a rising young coach who developed a relationship with new GM Monti Ossenfort while together in New England.
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) February 17, 2023

Arizona's interest in Covington comes after ESPN's Adam Schefter reported earlier Friday that the Cardinals are interviewing Chicago Bears linebackers coach Dave Borgonzi on Saturday for the open defensive coordinator job.

Covington, 33, got his start in the NFL as a Patriots coaching assistant from 2017-18. He became the team's linebackers coach in 2019 before accepting the defensive line coach role in 2020.

The Patriots ranked No. 8 in the NFL last season in yards allowed and tied with the Dallas Cowboys for third in the NFL with 54 sacks under Covington's tutelage with the defensive line.

During his introductory press conference, Gannon told reporters that it hasn't been decided if he will call plays for the defense. The 40-year-old was the Eagles' defensive coordinator for the last two seasons.

Arizona is on a mission to get its defense back in shape. After allowing 21.5 points per game in 2021, which ranked 11th in the league, the Cardinals allowed 26.4 points per matchup last year, which ranked 31st in the NFL.

After seeing how long it took the Cardinals to hire their new head coach, expect the team to be thorough in the process of hiring a defensive coordinator.