Former Patriots defensive coordinator DeMarcus Covington finds new home
As the Patriots continue to sign their new coaching staff for the 2025 campaign, their former defensive coordinator, DeMarcus Covington, has reportedly found a new team. Covington is signing with the Green Bay Packers as their defensive line coach, according to ESPN’s Rob Demovsky.
Covington has spent his entire NFL coaching career on the Patriots staff. He was first hired in 2017 as a coaching assistant under Bill Belichick. Over his seven-year tenure in New England, Covington filled various coaching roles, but has spent the majority of his NFL career as a defensive line coach. He filled that position for the Patriots from 2020-23, prior to being promoted to defensive coordinator when Jerod Mayo became New England’s head coach in 2024.
The Patriots announced on Jan. 22 that they replaced Covington with Terrell Williams as their new defensive coordinator under Mike Vrabel.
Under Covington, the 2024 Patriots had the No. 22 overall ranked defense for yards allowed in the NFL, giving up an average of 342.9 total yards per game, FOX Sports. They had the No. 10 ranked passing defense in the league, allowing an average of 211.5 yards per game through the air. On the ground, they allowed 131.4 average rushing yards per game, No. 23 in the league.
Overall, the Pats defense allowed 43 total touchdowns (16 rushing and 27 passing), and it was ranked No. 21 in touchdowns allowed to opponents’ offensive units with an average of 2.5 per game, via TeamRankings.com.
It was easy to point to Covington for the drop-off in defensive performance under his watch. In 2023, the Patriots allowed 301.6 yards per game, No. 7 in the league, and allowed 38 total touchdowns, via FOX Sports.
Nonetheless, Covington has found his next job in the NFL in a position he has experience with as a defensive line coach. But his path to becoming a defensive coordinator appears to have started over.
Luke Graham is a digital sports content co-op for 98.5 the Sports Hub. He is currently a sophomore communications student at Northeastern University. Follow him on X @LukeGraham05.
