Tag: DeMarcus Covington

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.

[lawrence-auto-related count=3]

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.

[lawrence-auto-related count=3]

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.

[lawrence-auto-related count=3]

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.

[lawrence-auto-related count=4]

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:

DeMarcus Covington will represent Patriots at NFL accelerator program

DeMarcus Covington will represent the Patriots at the upcoming NFL Coach Accelerator Program.

[anyclip pubname=”2103″ widgetname=”0016M00002U0B1kQAF_M8036″]

New England Patriots defensive line coach DeMarcus Covington will be the representative for the organization at the NFL Coach Accelerator Program in Minneapolis.

The Coach Accelerator Program aims for an increase in exposure between owners, executives, and the coaches themselves. The goal here is to provide an opportunity to develop relationships between the individuals.

New England allowing Covington to spearhead these efforts speaks to the endless amount of respect the assistant coach has earned in the organization. In many ways, it’s not surprising he was the one chosen for this opportunity.

Covington has been a busy man in New England. He was also part of the Patriots’ coaching staff that worked at the Senior Bowl.

It’s clear that the Patriots see something in Covington. He began as a coaching assistant in 2017 and has quickly accelerated up the ranks. If anything, it’s clear the team is doing everything it can to get him noticed.

[lawrence-auto-related count=3]

Chargers interview two candidates for defensive coordinator job

The Chargers have a void to fill with their defensive coordinator position left by Renaldo Hill.

The Chargers have a void to fill with their defensive coordinator position left by Renaldo Hill, who joined the Dolphins to be their passing game coordinator and defensive backs coach.

On Wednesday, NFL Media’s Ian Rapoport reported that Los Angeles interviewed Patriots defensive line coach DeMarcus Covington and the University of Houston defensive coordinator Doug Belk for the job.

Covington has been with New England since 2017 and has coached the team’s defensive line since 2020. He started as a coaching assistant for two seasons and coached the outside linebackers in 2019.

Belk has been with Houston since 2019. He entered the program as co-defensive coordinator and safeties coach. He was promoted to associate head coach in 2020 and became defensive coordinator in 2021. He’s previously worked for West Virginia, Alabama, and Valdosta State.

Initially, after it was announced that Hill was leaving for Miami, it was reported that the plan was for defensive backs coach Derrick Ansley to be promoted to the Chargers’ defensive coordinator. But it appears they are still doing their homework.

Patriots’ rising defensive coach interviewed for Chargers’ DC position

The Chargers have reportedly interviewed one of the Patriots’ standout coaches for their vacant defensive coordinator role.

The Los Angeles Chargers initially planned on continuing with Renaldo Hill as their defensive coordinator, but the coach went off to join Vic Fangio and the Miami Dolphins, leaving the Chargers to scramble for a replacement.

That replacement could end up being New England Patriots defensive line coach DeMarcus Covington, who reportedly interviewed for the now vacant defensive coordinator position with the Chargers.

All signs appeared to be pointing towards Covington staying in New England after he failed to land the Arizona Cardinals’ job. However, there are always going to be opportunities for coaches as talented as Covington, and he might be getting a big one with the Chargers, per NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport.

As Rapoport noted, the Chargers also interviewed University of Houston defensive coordinator Doug Belk. There could be other candidates waiting in the wings as well.

Covington was noted as a future head coaching candidate by NFL.com back in November. His presence helped solidify a Patriots defensive line that was one of the strengths of the team in 2022.

[lawrence-auto-related count=3]

[mm-video type=playlist id=01eqby79hc76t2s390 player_id=01eqbvhghtkmz2182d image=]