Cardinals request to interview Patriots coach DeMarcus Covington for defensive coordinator position
BOSTON -- The Patriots made some major changes on their offensive coaching staff this offseason, while keeping the defensive staff intact. The latter part may be subject to change, though.
According to Ian Rapoport, the Arizona Cardinals have requested to interview DeMarcus Covington for their defensive coordinator position. Covington has been with the Patriots since 2017, and he's been the defensive line coach for the past three seasons.
#Patriots DL coach DeMarcus Covington was requested by the #AZCardinals for their defensive coordinator position under Jonathan Gannon, source said. Just 33, Covington is a rising young coach who developed a relationship with new GM Monti Ossenfort while together in New England.
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) February 17, 2023
The Cardinals are a little late to the game in terms of building a coaching staff, as they waited until after the Super Bowl to hire now-former Eagles defensive coordinator Jonathan Gannon as their head coach.
As Rapoport noted, new Cardinals GM Monti Ossenfort knows Covington well, having worked in the Patriots' front office during Covington's tenure.
Covington started his coaching career in 2012 as a graduate assistant at the University of Alabama-Birmingham, before working two seasons as a graduate assistant at Ole Miss. He was the defensive line coach for one season at the University of Tennessee-Martin, and he spent one year as the co-defensive coordinator/defensive line coach at Eastern Illinois.