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Devin McCourty explains why DeMarcus Covington is a ‘perfect fit’ as Patriots DC
"He’s preparing to be a head coach someday."
The Patriots reportedly have a new defensive coordinator in place.
Albert Breer of The Monday Morning Quarterback reported over the weekend that New England defensive line coach DeMarcus Covington is expected to be promoted as the team’s DC in the coming days.
Even though Covington won’t turn 35 until March, he’s been considered one of the top rising assistant coaches in league circles over the last few 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.
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Covington’s focus has been on the defensive line over the last four seasons, but he’s been a part of New England’s coaching staff since 2017. And during his time in Foxborough, Covington routinely stood out to former Patriots safety and defensive captain Devin McCourty.
“I will say this about DC,” McCourty said during an interview on MassLive’s “Eye on Foxborough” podcast. “I sat behind DC at all our squad meetings, and every day he would come sit down, Coach Belichick will start talking, he will pull out his iPad. He turned the light all the way down, and he would be in there typing away.
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“Everything that Bill was saying, I think he put the time in. Just, you could see he was building up his coaching catalog for September, October, December… All of these things he was documenting. And I knew right there watching him, he’s preparing to be a head coach someday, and he’s ready to always move up and elevate within — whether it’s here in New England or if he has to go elsewhere.”
New England has seen several players make significant strides under Covington’s watch, especially Christian Barmore (8.5 sacks, 13 tackles for loss) this past season.
But even before the returns put forth in 2023 by key contributors like Barmore, McCourty noted that Covington has always stood out as a future leader on an NFL coaching staff.
“I could just see he was always dialed in and locked in,” McCourty said of Covington. “And I think since 2018, when coach Brian Flores took over the defense, it turned into more of — it felt like a collab of anything on defense… But I look to whoever they add to that defensive staff, they’re gonna add good quality coaches that are gonna help bridge all of that and bring it together.
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“I think all of those guys have worked so well together because they lean on each other’s strengths and they work together. And I think DC is kind of the perfect fit of the guy who could be the figurehead in front of the room, bringing it all together but still relying on different people. And I think that’s what we’ve seen throughout the NFL now. We’ve seen it a lot of pass-game coordinators because the reality is, one guy doesn’t go up there and just run everything. It has to be a group of people working together. But you need somebody in front of the room leading. And I think DC could be that guy. I think he will be the guy leading.”
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