5 things to know about DeMarcus Covington, who’ll reportedly be the next defensive coordinator of the Patriots
Covington will be the Patriots' first defensive coordinator since 2017.
The Patriots have a new defensive coordinator.
Defensive line coach DeMarcus Covington is expected to be promoted to lead the defensive unit in a move that will become official in the coming days, the Monday Morning Quarterback’s Albert Breer first reported on Saturday.
Covington gets the job after spending the last seven seasons on the Patriots’ coaching staff and is new head coach Jerod Mayo’s first coordinator hiring. Here are five things to know about Covington.
He’s been viewed as a riser within the coaching ranks.
Covington, who turns 35 at the end of March, has quickly ascended as a coach. After the Patriots hired him in 2017 as a coaching assistant from Eastern Illinois, he served the last five seasons as a position coach. Covington worked as the Patriots’ outside linebackers coach in 2019, before moving over to being the defensive line coach.
Covington’s work on the Patriots’ defensive line has seemed to catch the eyes of many around the league in recent years. He was named in NFL Media’s Tom Pelissero’s annual “young coaches on the rise” column in each of the last two years and was one of the youngest coaches on the list in both years.
Prior to becoming the Patriots’ next defensive coordinator, Covington interviewed for a pair of other defensive coordinator gigs in the past. He spoke with the Cardinals and Chargers last season. He didn’t interview with another team this offseason, but Covington has reportedly been the favorite for the Patriots’ defensive coordinator job for over a week.
Additionally, Covington worked as a defensive coordinator for the American team at the Senior Bowl in 2023. Senior Bowl director Jim Nagy said at the time that Covington was “highly recommended from [the] Patriots” for the opportunity. He seemed to impress those with the opportunity he got, too.
“I just got off the phone with a coach who worked with him down at the Senior Bowl, had nothing but glowing remarks in terms of Demarcus Covington’s readiness,” NBC Sports Boston’s Phil Perry said of Covington on Tuesday. “He told me usually defensive line coaches, they’re pretty zeroed in on what happens at the line of scrimmage but not Covington. He understands the linebacker level, the secondary level as well. He had the opportunity to address the room so to speak down there at Mobile, Ala. Did that with energy, was impressive in that regard.”
Even though he’s only coached on defense, he played wide receiver in college.
Unlike many coaches, Covington deviated from the side of the ball he spent as a player and coached on the other side.
Covington was a wide receiver in college, putting up solid numbers for Samford in his college career. He recorded 62 career grabs for 586 yards and two touchdowns, starting for the Bulldogs for three seasons prior to his graduation in 2011.
Covington said he learned the fundamentals of coaching during his time in college, crediting former Samford head coach Pat Sullivan, who also thought Covington would become a coach someday.
“I learned about the week-in and week-out preparation,” Covington told Samford’s website in 2018. “At Samford they try to teach you to prepare weekly for the opponent. And that’s really the same way we preach in coaching, trying to get our players to prepare week-in and week-out for each opponent. Because every opponent isn’t the same. So, you have to approach each week differently and learn the ins and outs of preparing for each opponent for what they are capable of doing.
“Coach Sullivan did a good job of making sure that we were prepared and that we knew our opponents and that’s one of the things I learned. Going into coaching you have to understand, watch film, get to know your opponent the best you can so you can go out there and play fast.”
Covington began his coaching career in 2012, joining UAB as a graduate assistant. He became a graduate assistant at Ole Miss a year later, working in Oxford for two seasons before becoming UT Martin’s defensive line coach in 2015. He became the co-defensive coordinator and defensive line coach at Eastern Illinois in 2016, working alongside Saints linebackers coach Michael Hodges, who also reportedly interviewed for the Patriots’ defensive coordinator job.
Patriots defensive linemen have praised him over the last couple of seasons.
During his four-year tenure as the Patriots’ defensive line coach, Covington has overseen the development of standout players such as Deatrich Wise Jr., Josh Uche, and Christian Barmore.
All three players have praised Covington in numerous ways over the last few seasons. Uche told reporters that Covington’s drills helped him break out amid the 2022 season in November of that year. Barmore and Wise, meanwhile, believe Covington has head coach potential.
“The man’s got the wisdom. He has the mentality and he knows a lot,” Barmore told MassLive’s Mark Daniels in 2022. “He’s really a smart coach. I think he does have a chance to be a head coach one day.”
“He has a great understanding of the entire defense and scheme,” Wise told the Boston Herald‘s Andrew Callahan in November. “He can coach defensive line, linebackers and defensive backs. He sees the big picture, he’s a good players coach and can control the room.”
Covington has dished similar praise to his players, notably complimenting Barmore as the third-defensive tackle emerged as one of the best interior pass rushers later in the 2023 season, recording 8.5 on the year.
“Every year he’s been getting better, growing on the field, off the field, I’m proud of the way he’s worked,” Covington told reporters of Barmore in December. “Consistency, for him, and that’s what he’s been doing. He’s been doing a good job, and it started this offseason with him working, rehabbing and doing a lot of things to get his body right, in the classroom and really taking those things and taking it to the grass.”
But there’s another layer to the respect the players have with Covington. During his time as a defensive assistant, Covington wore custom-made hoodies and shoes to help support the players’ causes and charitable foundations, even supporting offensive players such as Trent Brown and Kendrick Bourne, according to Daniels.
“He definitely supports us in anything we have going on,” Wise told Daniels in 2022. “He kind of makes the D-line room like a mini-family. If Carl [Davis] has something going on, Davon [Godchaux] or anybody, any news in the family, he’s always the first to congratulate you, pray for you and be there.”
Here’s what Bill Belichick and Jerod Mayo have said about him.
Covington, obviously, did something right in the eyes of the former Patriots head coach to earn a quick promotion to become a position coach at a young age.
Belichick shared some insight on what he thought of the new Patriots’ defensive coordinator in November 2022.
“DeMarcus does a really good job,” Belichick told reporters. “He’s coached linebackers, coached defensive line, really understands the entire defense. I’m sure he could coach a lot of positions on defense. Young guy that’s really smart, works hard. Has worked with, again, a lot of different types of players, even on our defensive line. That difference between our interior guys and our outside guys is quite distinct. Pass rush, pass coverage, interior run play, so forth. … It’s a lot of different techniques to coach.
“He’s very well versed in the fundamentals and schemes. He does a good job. Really glad we have him.”
Mayo actually worked pretty closely with Covingtion in 2019, when the latter was an outside linebackers coach and the former was an inside linebackers coach. That was also Mayo’s first season on the job, and he credited Covington for helping him learn along the way.
“Coach Covington, he’s taught me a lot,” Mayo told reporters in 2022. “He’s climbed the ranks so he’s seen it all from drawing cards to running a room. He’s one of those guys that really tries to gain the heart, the mind and the soul of the players. I think all the guys respect him.
“He’s also played on the offensive side of the ball so he knows a lot about that as well. Definitely a huge resource for this team.”
The Patriots’ defensive front helped them rank tied for third in sacks in 2022 (54) and first in yards allowed per carry (3.3) in 2023.
He’s the Patriots’ first defensive coordinator since 2017.
The Patriots have left the defensive coordinator position vacant since Matt Patrica departed the team in the 2018 offseason to become the Lions’ head coach.
Belichick never named another defensive coordinator again in his final six seasons with the team, although Brian Flores called defensive plays in 2018 before becoming the Dolphins’ head coach and Steve Belichick called defensive plays for the last five years.
What happens with the rest of the Patriots’ defensive coaching staff remains to be seen. However, both Steve Belichick and Brian Belichick have reportedly received offers to remain with the organization. If Steve Belichick opts to stay, he’d “project” to work as an advisor to Mayo, according to ESPN’s Mike Reiss. In addition to defensive playcalling, Belichick has worked with the linebackers over the last few seasons.
Brian Belichick, meanwhile, has served as the Patriots’ safeties coach since 2020.
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