Patriots, Mayo Options for Defensive Coordinator?

The New England Patriots continue their fresh start approach to rebuilding their coaching staff for the upcoming season and beyond under new head coach Jerod Mayo.

FOXBORO — New England Patriots head coach Jerod Mayo is wasting little time in his efforts to assemble his coaching staff for 2024 — especially on the defensive side of the ball.

Mayo, a former inside linebackers coach, is well-versed in the nuances of coaching a complex, yet highly-effective defensive system. Under his direction, New England’s defense finished in the top-10 in total defense four times — with the 2019 unit finishing No. 1 in the NFL in total defense (275.9 yards per game) and scoring (14.1 points allowed per game.)

The Patriots, per a pair of Friday morning NFL network reports, will be interviewing both Denver Broncos defensive backs coach Christian Parker, and New Orleans Satins linebackers coach Michael Hodges for their vacant defensive coordinator position. The team as also revealed its intentions to interview Carolina Panthers outside linebackers coach Tem Lukabu for the job in the coming days. 

However, Mayo also has an impressive collection of in-house defensive talent. The Patriots defense performed surprisingly well, considering their dismal 4-13 finish to the 2023 campaign. Keeping some of the capable minds which helped to craft said high-performing unit may ultimately be in Mayo’s best interest. 

Though New England is also on active search for an offensive coordinator to replace Bill O’Brien — who has agreed to join the staff at Ohio State University in the same capacity — the following list of potential candidates on defense may be Mayo’s first, and possibly most important, hire this cycle.

New England Patriots head coach Jerod Mayo :: Photo by Fred Kfoury III/Icon Sportswire

DeMarcus Covington

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.

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. 

Christian Parker

At 32, Parker is developing a solid reputation as a fast roster within the coaching ranks. He began his coaching career working as the cornerbacks coach at Virginia State in 2013, before shifting to coach all defensive backs in 2014. Parker was hired as a defensive quality control coach for the Green Bay Packers in 2019. With Green Bay, he assisted defensive coordinator Mike Pettine in breaking down film on opponents and coordinating the scout team. Parker was named Denver’s defensive backs coach in 2021, overseeing a talented secondary led by Broncos top corner Pat Surtain.

Michael Hodges 

Hodges is also emerging as a hot coaching commodity. He began his coaching career at Texas A&M as a strength and conditioning assistant. He also spent time at Fresno State, before taking on the duties of linebackers coach and co-defensive coordinator at Eastern Illinois — a title he shared in 2016 with Covington, who is also considered a candidate for New England’s defensive coordinator job. He was then hired by the New Orleans Saints in 2017 to work as a defensive assistant. He was promoted to assistant linebackers coach in 2019, where he has helped to guide a Saints defense which ranked in the top 10 in scoring for each of the last four seasons. Hodges was promoted to linebackers coach in 2020, replacing Mike Nolan. 

Stephen Belichick 

In addition to being the eldest son of eight-time (six, with New England) Super Bowl champion Bill Belichick, Stephen  has been with the Patriots since being hired in 2012 as a coaching assistant. Alongside Mayo, Belichick has been among the lead architects for New England’s recent defensive renaissance. Together, the pair have been intricately involved in the team’s defensive on-field operations — essentially carrying out the duties of unofficial co-defensive coordinators. For the past five seasons, Belichick has handled the play-calling duties, while Mayo took on a more active role in strategy. In fact, they have reportedly developed quite a strong relationship since they began working together in 2019. Whether Belichick would consider staying with the Patriots — instead of joining his father’s staff in his next coaching position — remains unclear. However, as long as he remains an option, he should receive strong consideration. 

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Tem Lukabu

Lukabu spent 2023 as the outside linebackers coach for the Carolina Panthers. The 42-year-old has coached for five seasons in the NFL, also spending time with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers (2012-13), San Francisco 49ers (2016-17) and Cincinnati Bengals (2019). He coached collegiately at Rhode Island and Rutgers and was Boston College's defensive coordinator 2020-22. In 2012, Lukabu assisted the Buccaneers defense, which ranked first for rushing defense in the NFL.

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