The 34-year-old has been viewed as a coach on the rise, with NFL Media’s Tom Pelissero listing him in his annual “young coaches to watch” column in November. He joined the Patriots in 2017, as a coaching assistant, following a brief stint at Eastern Illinois as its co-defensive coordinator.

Covington was promoted to outside linebackers coach in 2019 before shifting over to his current role in 2020, helping develop Christian Barmore and Josh Uche over the last few seasons. He also served as a defensive coordinator for one of the teams in the Senior Bowl last year.

Along with Covington, other coaches the Patriots have reportedly requested to interview or interviewed for the defensive coordinator vacancy include Panthers outside linebackers coach Tem Lukabu, Broncos defensive backs coach Christian Parker, and Saints linebackers coach Michael Hodges.

One coach who hasn’t been connected to the Patriots’ defensive coordinator gig, at least as of Sunday, is Steve Belichick. The Patriots outside linebackers coach has called defensive plays over the last four years, but he could remain in New England as an assistant head coach or senior adviser, according to Reiss. Steve and Brian Belichick have received offers from Mayo to remain on the coaching staff following their father’s departure, Monday Morning Quarterback’s Albert Breer reported on Jan. 15.

Additionally, Reiss speculated that Hodges’s interview with the Patriots could be a sign that Covington is the frontrunner for the defensive coordinator job. Hodges, 37, worked with Covington as the other co-defensive coordinator at Eastern Illinois in 2016 before he made the jump to the NFL, joining the Saints.

Similar to Covington, Hodges was also listed on the “young coaches to watch” list. NFL Media’s Ian Rapoport wrote that Hodges has been a “huge part” of the Saints’ scoring defense the last four seasons while New Orleans Football’s Nick Underhill called him “one of the rising stars within the Saints’ coaching ranks.”

“He’s done a great job of developing linebackers over the year,” Underhill said. “His players typically get better and he gets them in position to go off and get paid by other teams. He seems to be somebody that’s a great culture builder, has a great feel on what it takes to succeed, and does feel ready for the next step in his career.”

In addition to interviewing defensive coordinator candidates, the Patriots are also interviewing coaches for their offensive coordinator and special teams coach roles. In a change of pace from Bill Belichick’s final few seasons with the team, Mayo said at his introductory press conference that he’s bringing back job titles for top assistant roles.