NFL Media’s Tom Pelissero raised eyebrows throughout New England on Tuesday, as he reported that Patriots defensive coordinator DeMarcus Covington will be interviewing with the Cincinnati Bengals on Wednesday for their vacant defensive coordinator job.
Covington, who still remains under contract with New England, was given permission by the Patriots to interview elsewhere, per Pelissero’s report on X.com.
Patriots chairman and CEO Robert Kraft said in a press conference on Monday that all the coaches on fired head coach Jerod Mayo’s staff will remain under contract with the Patriots, and whoever the organization ends up hiring as their new head coach will have a say in who is ultimately brought back for 2025.
Both Covington returning to New England or being hired elsewhere as a defensive coordinator would come as a surprise, given how unsuccessful he was in his first season with that title for the Patriots.
After a dominant performance from his defense in Week 1’s upset win over the Bengals, Covington’s unit progressively got worse as the season went on.
Under Covington, New England’s defense finished the season ranked 22nd in overall defense, 22nd in scoring defense, 23rd in rushing defense, 25th in red zone defense, and 26th in third down defense.
Cincinnati (9-8) finished one game shy of making the playoffs this season, due in large part to how poorly they played on defense. While wide receiver Ja’Marr Chase won the receiving triple crown and Joe Burrow led the league in passing yards, the Bengals were unable to overcome their follies on the other side of the football, ranking 25th in overall defense and 30th in red zone defense.
This lack of production on defense led to the organization parting ways with defensive coordinator Lou Anarumo, who had been in that position for Cincinnati since 2019.
Replacing Anarumo with the 35-year-old defensive coordinator from New England would feel like a stretch, bordering on malpractice by the Cincinnati front office.
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