DeMarcus Covington: Patriots Coach Promotion ‘Blessing”

New England Patriots defensive coordinator DeMarcus Covington is the club’s first coach to hold the title of defensive coordinator since 2017.

FOXBORO — While the New England Patriots offense is expected to look drastically different this season under first-year head coach DeMarcus Covington, their defense will be operating off the motto: “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.” 

With former Patriots mainstay Matt Patricia being the last to hold the title in 2017, Mayo promoted former defensive line coach DeMarcus Covington to defensive coordinator as one of his first orders of business in the post-Bill Belichick era. 

For Covington, earning the position was a dream come true. 

“It’s something I always wanted to do in this career,” Covington told Patriots.com on Thursday. “To become a defensive coordinator and be able to lead a defense, I would say it’s truly a blessing.”

New England Patriots head coach Jerod Mayo (left), defensive coordinator DeMarcus Covington (right) :: Photo by Fred Kfoury III/Icon Sportswire

Covington has been considered a rising star in the coaching ranks for the past few seasons. Having previously interviewed with the Arizona Cardinals for their defensive vacancy in 2022, the Birmingham, Ala. native only enhanced his reputation with a strong performance last season. New England finished the regular season ranked at No. 7 in overall defense in the NFL, allowing a defensive yards-average of 301.6, as well as 21.5 yards-per-game. The Pats run defense ranked fourth overall with 93.2 rushing yards allowed per game. 

Covington’s steady hand at guiding the defensive line was a significant reason for their success in 2023 — a point he discussed further last week. 

“I always look at what can I do and not try to be somebody else,” Covington said. “I look at how I get the players to play, how you’re able to become a teacher in the classroom and get those players to take it from the classroom to the grass.”

The 34-year-old Pats positional coach clearly had the pedigree along with the prowess to deserve his promotion. began his coaching career as defensive graduate assistant; spending one season at his hometown University of Alabama-Birmingham in 2012, and two seasons holding the same title at Ole Miss. In 2015 Covington coached the defensive line at UT Martin. 

After spending 2016 as the co-defensive coordinator and defensive line coach at Eastern Illinois, Covington joined the Patriots organization in 2017. He began his Pats tenure as a coaching assistant for two years before becoming an assistant outside linebackers coach in 2019. In 2020 he was moved to coaching the defensive line, where he has earned the trust and respect of his colleagues, but most importantly, his players.

In addition to his impressive resume, Covington served as the defensive coordinator for the American squad during the 2023 Senior Bowl in Mobile. He was also nominated as the Patriots representative for the NFL Coach Accelerator Program in May 2023 at the Spring League Meeting in Minneapolis.

Accordingly, Covington will now guide a unit once again expected to be the strength of a team which finished a dismal 4-13 last year. He will be joined on Mayo’s staff on defense by new defensive line coach Jerry Montgomery, linebackers coach Dont’a Hightower, inside linebackers coach Drew Wilkins, cornerbacks coach Mike Pellegrino and safeties coach Brian Belichick.

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Still, his voice will now be the alpha in a room led by standout players such as defensive tackle Christian Barmore and safety Jabrill Peppers. The Pats should enjoy the fully-healthy services of linebacker Matthew Judon (biceps) and Christian Gonzalez (torn labrum) — each expected to return from season-ending injuries. 

Fortunately for the Pats, they seemingly have the right man at the wheel — living his dream one day at a time. 

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