DeMarcus Covington reportedly a "strong favorite" to become Patriots defensive coordinator

FOXBORO -- Jerod Mayo has three coordinator positions to fill on his Patriots coaching staff. But he may not have to look far to find his defensive coordinator.

According to Albert Breer of MMQB, New England defensive line coach DeMarcus Covington is a "strong favorite" to get a promotion and become Mayo's defensive coordinator. Covington has been the team's defensive line coach since 2020.

Covington played receiver in college at Samford and then joined the coaching ranks in 2012 as a defensive graduate assistant at the University of Alabama-Birmingham. He held the same role at Ole Miss from 2013-14, and then became the defensive line coach at UT Martin in 2015. He spent 2016 as the co-defensive coordinator and defensive line coach at Eastern Illinois before making the jump to the NFL, joining the Patriots as a defensive assistant in 2017.

He became New England's outside linebackers coach in 2019, the same year that Mayo returned to the Patriots as the team's inside linebackers coach. So the two have worked together quite a bit over the last five years on the defensive side of the football. 

Last year, Covington also served as a defensive coordinator at the Senior Bowl. 

The 34-year-old Covington is one of four DC candidates to interview with the Patriots since Mayo was hired as head coach, according to Breer. New England has also spoken to Denver Broncos defensive backs coach Christian Parker and Pittsburgh Steelers assistant defensive backs coach Gerald Alexander about the defensive coordinator job, according to Breer, and requested an interview with Carolina Panthers outside linebackers coach Tem Lukabu.

Even if Covington does get the defensive coordinator gig, any of those other candidates could join the staff in New England in other roles.