Tag: DeMarcus Covington

Patriots rising LB emerging as veteran leader for the team

DeMarcus Covington comments on the growth of Patriots LB Anfernee Jennings

New England Patriots linebacker Anfernee Jennings is turning into a leader for the organization, as they look for somebody to step up at the position following big departures.

Two key pieces from last year’s linebacker group in Josh Uche and Matthew Judon are no longer with the Patriots. That has left two huge holes on defense for the team. However, Jennings appears to be stepping up to the challenge.

The Alabama product signed a three-year, $12 million contract extension with the Patriots back in March. He has recorded 39 tackles and half a sack so far this season, after recording 66 tackles a year ago.

Patriots defensive coordinator DeMarcus Covington has been impressed with Jennings both on and off the field.

“I’m seeing a player who’s growing into a leader for us.” Covington told media members.

Jennings’ emergence as a veteran leader could be extremely important. The Patriots organization is undergoing a youth movement on both sides of the ball, and Jennings could be one of the new leaders to help forge a new path to success.

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How Patriots DC responded to Bill Belichick’s tough criticism

This was DeMarcus Covington’s response

New England Patriots defensive coordinator DeMarcus Covington was asked to respond to comments made by former Patriots coach Bill Belichick.

Belichick criticized the Patriots’ run defense, as the team gets set to take on the New York Jets. Statistically, the Patriots rank in the bottom half of the league with 136.1 rushing yards allowed per game.

They allowed 171 rushing yards and two touchdowns to the Jacksonville Jaguars in their Week 7 loss.

“I don’t really look too much into it like that,” Covington said in response to Belichick’s comments. “Bill’s done a lot of great things for me. He brought me here.”

The criticism has been hard for the Patriots this week, ahead of a division rivalry game against the Jets on Sunday. We’ll see if they’re able to use it as motivation to pull off an upset.

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Patriots DC defends Matthew Judon amid looming contract issues

DeMarcus Covington weighs in on the Matthew Judon situation

New England Patriots defensive coordinator DeMarcus Covington is pleased with the way linebacker Matthew Judon has handled his business on the field.

Judon’s unresolved contract has been a key storyline throughout training camp. The linebacker has since been practicing with the team after somewhat of a rocky start. Cameras caught him having an animated exchange with coach Jerod Mayo and leaving the field during a training camp practice in late July.

However, since that incident, Judon has returned with the intention to play out the final year of his contract. He is coming off a season in 2023 that saw him record 13 combined tackles and four sacks. He suffered a biceps injury last October that kept him out for the rest of the season.

Covington has his player’s back, and he made that clear when speaking with the media, via Boston.com’s Khari A. Thompson.

“For us and the defensive staff, he’s been Judon. He’s been Matt Judon,” said Covington. “He’s been great in the classroom. He’s been great for us on the practice field. I look at it like this, we all have bad days, right? If I asked any of you guys, all of you guys would raise your hand that you’ve had a bad day. Unfortunately for him, his bad day will be on camera. Just like our bad days will be behind doors.”

A healthy and motivated Judon will be an important piece for the Patriots’ defense in 2024. It sounds as though he is giving it his all, even with the contract situation still looming.

Patriots to host press conference with new coaching staff on Wednesday

Patriots set to hold their first press conference to introduce the new coaching staff.

The New England Patriots and head coach Jerod Mayo will hold an introductory press conference on Wednesday with offensive coordinator Alex Van Pelt, defensive coordinator DeMarcus Covington and special teams coordinator Jeremy Springer.

The press conference will take place on Wednesday at 3 p.m. ET, per Patriots.com’s Evan Lazar.

This will give fans and media alike a chance to hear from the new coaching staff for the very first time. All three were hired in February as part of a rebuild in the post-Bill Belichick era.

Van Pelt comes to New England from the Cleveland Browns, while Covington received an in-house promotion from defensive line coach. Meanwhile, Springer was the assistant special teams coach of the Los Angeles Rams in 2022 and 2023.

A new era of Patriots football is officially beginning, and now, we will get our first chance to hear from the architects behind it.

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Grading Patriots’ 2024 coaching staff hires

Handing out grades to the Patriots’ coaching staff hires.

The New England Patriots have filled their four major coaching roles with head coach Jerod Mayo, offensive coordinator Alex Van Pelt, defensive coordinator DeMarcus Covington and special teams coordinator Jeremy Springer.

There will always be skeptics refusing to let go of the old way of doing things and making room for the possibility of improvement with the new guard in place. Change clearly needed to happen for a Patriots team coming off a 4-13 season and finishing dead last in the AFC East.

No one knows what will come of the new coaching staff. This could be a case of the Patriots knocking it out of the park and creating a staff that leads the team back to prominence, or they might have doomed the team to even further irrelevance with the recent hirings.

Today, we’re passing out grades for the Patriots’ primary coaching hires for the 2024 season:

Report: Patriots expected to hire internal candidate as new DC

The Patriots reportedly have their guy at defensive coordinator

The New England Patriots reportedly have their guy for the defensive coordinator vacancy, and they’re expected to make the news official next week.

According to senior NFL reporter Albert Breer, “all signs point” towards the Patriots hiring former defensive line coach DeMarcus Covington as their next defensive coordinator.

It’s a major promotion for Covington, who worked his way up after initially joining the Patriots organization as a coaching assistant in 2017. The Patriots have mostly worked with Bill Belichick delegating responsibilities with few official titles on the staff.

So Covington being in the saddle as an official defensive play-caller will bring some normalcy back to the coaching staff. He’s a fast-rising coach that has already worked extensively behind the scenes with Patriots head coach Jerod Mayo. That should enable their to be continuity with a defensive unit that overperformed last season, despite dealing with numerous injuries.

The next major dominoes to fall for the Patriots are the vacant offensive coordinator and special teams coordinator roles on the roster. With the team ramping up interviews, a decision shouldn’t take much longer on those positions.

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Report: Patriots have ‘strong favorite’ for defensive coordinator job

A “strong favorite” has reportedly emerged for the Patriots’ vacant defensive coordinator job

The New England Patriots reportedly have a favorite to land the vacant defensive coordinator position, and it’s a name Patriots fans will be familiar with. Sports Illustrated’s Albert Breer reported on Tuesday that DeMarcus Covington is the “strong favorite” to land the job.

Covington has spent seven years in the organization. He has been the defensive line coach of the Patriots since 2020. He first served as a coaching assistant for the organization from 2017-2018. He then moved to outside linebackers coach in 2019.

Covington also has collegiate experience, last serving as the co-defensive coordinator and defensive line coach for Eastern Illinois in 2016.

As of right now, Covington is the likely candidate to get the defensive coordinator job in New England, as Breer noted:

The first domino to fall could be DeMarcus Covington landing the defensive coordinator job. Covington, as it stands right now, is a strong favorite, and brings seven years of experience working in the building to the table—the past five as a defensive position coach alongside new head coach Jerod Mayo. The Patriots could also seek Denver Broncos defensive backs coach Christian Parker or Pittsburgh Steelers assistant defensive backs coach Gerald Alexander, both of whom interviewed for the coordinator job, to the defensive staff with Covington.

Covington has certainly paid his dues as both an NFL and college coach.

Hiring someone from the staff with familiarity may not be the worst approach, as the defensive side of the football has been a strong point for New England over the past two seasons.

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Saints’ Michael Hodges is a key figure in Patriots DC search

The Patriots interviewed Saints linebackers coach Michael Hodges for their DC opening. Even if he doesn’t get the job, they might have a role for him:

The New Orleans Saints could lose yet another assistant to a promotion elsewhere around the league. ESPN’s Mike Reiss reports that linebackers coach Michael Hodges has interviewed for the New England Patriots defensive coordinator opening, along with several other candidates. Head coach Jerod Mayo will likely still call plays defensively, just like Dennis Allen has done, but there’s plenty of room for additions to his staff.

And Hodges is a key figure in the search. An internal option for the job, Patriots defensive line coach DeMarcus Covington, is expected to interview soon — but he’s worked with Hodges before. Here’s what Reiss had to say about the connection:

Some close to the situation say Covington, who attended Mayo’s introduction as coach Wednesday, is well-positioned to elevate to a defensive coordinator role. The interview with Hodges, who was co-defensive coordinator with Covington at Eastern Illinois in 2016, could be a tipoff that it might be headed in that direction.

That suggests there could be room for Hodges in New England even if he doesn’t get the job, possibly working with Covington again as co-defensive coordinators. That strategy didn’t work for the Saints in 2022 with Ryan Nielsen and Kris Richard sharing the title, but it’s worked for other teams, and maybe that’s a situation Mayo could navigate more effectively than Allen did. Hodges and Covington doing well together in the past lends credence to the idea.

If Hodges believes this gives him a better path to advancement and calling his own plays than his current role in New Orleans, he owes it to himself to explore it. Former coworkers like Nielsen and Aaron Glenn have found success after leaving the Saints and getting out of Allen’s shadow. We’ll see if anything comes of this interest.

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Predicting Patriots coach Jerod Mayo’s staff in post-Bill Belichick era

Predicting Patriots coach Jerod Mayo’s staff in 2024

The Jerod Mayo era has officially begun in New England.

He has some work to do to build up his staff in support of his new system. There will be ties to Bill Belichick on defense, as that defense will likely evolve into a system that is a foundation for coaches, much like the Kyle Shanahan-style offense is to the modern NFL offenses.

But Mayo will need to ensure that the staff is set up properly to develop, attract and retain talent to ultimately create an environment for winning. The modern NFL has thrived with former players taking the helm, and Mayo is next in line.

Building a staff and system will likely have Mayo’s personal touch, but it needs to be done properly, especially if they want to draft and develop one of the quarterbacks in the 2024 rookie class.

Let’s take a look at what Mayo could do to fill the staff around him and set up the team for the post-Belichick era:

Patriots’ 2023 coaching staff with job titles

Here’s the Patriots’ 2023 coaching staff with job titles

New England Patriots training camp starts next week, and the organization revealed the roles for the coaches in the upcoming season.

There are several familiar faces back on the coaching staff, as well as new additions. Some of the more notable roles include Joe Judge as the assistant head coach and Evan Rothstein as the assistant quarterbacks coach.

The staff shakeup comes on the heels of a difficult 2022 season for New England, who missed the playoffs for the second time in three years. They’re hopeful the new-look staff can create the necessary changes to get the Patriots back into postseason contention.

Here’s the coaching staff expected to lead the way to change in 2023: