DeMarcus Covington Representing Patriots at NFL Coach Accelerator Program

New England Patriots defensive line coach DeMarcus Covington will be among 40 diverse coaching candidates to network with NFL ownership and club executives in an effort to continue to increase head coach diversity.

FOXBORO — New England Patriots defensive line coach DeMarcus Covington continues to become quite the commodity on the NFL coaching circuit. 

In the waning days of an offseason which has already seen him considered for defensive coordinator positions — as well as serving in the same capacity for the American squad for the 2023 Senior Bowl in Mobile — Covington has been nominated as the Patriots representative for the NFL Coach Accelerator Program from May 21-23 at the Spring League Meeting in Minneapolis.

Having completed his sixth season in New England, and third working with the defensive linemen, Covington played a major role in leading one of the most productive units in the NFL. The Patriots defense finished eighth in the NFL in yards allowed, tied with the San Francisco 49ers for second in the NFL with 30 takeaways (the Dallas Cowboys had 33), third in the NFL with 19 interceptions, and tied with Dallas for third in the NFL with 54 sacks.

In continuation of the NFL's commitment to promoting greater diversity across the NFL, the Coach Accelerator aims to increase exposure between owners, executives, and diverse coaching talent, providing ample opportunity to develop and build upon their relationships. As such, Covington will get the chance to demonstrate his coaching prowess on a wider scale. Earlier this year, he was listed on NFL Media’s annual ‘Watch List’ of rising head-coaching candidates under the age 45. His dedication to preparation, as well as strategy, continues to make him a hot coaching commodity.

“As a coach, a player, you have to enjoy the process, enjoy the preparation,” Covington told reporters during the 2022 season. “You almost have to love the preparation almost as much as you love the game day because you practice more than you get to play in the game. It makes the games a unique opportunity.”

The 34-year-old Pats positional coach began his coaching career as defensive graduate assistant, spending one season at the 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.

Covington, as well as the rest of his New England coaching colleagues will begin, in earnest, the process of building the 2023 Patriots with the commencement of OTAs next week at Gillette Stadium. 

---

Follow Mike D’Abate on Twitter @mdabateNFL and Listen/Subscribe to his daily podcast: Locked On Patriots

Follow Patriots Country on Twitter and Facebook

Want the latest in breaking news and insider information on the Patriots? Click Here

More Patriots coverage from Sports Illustrated here.