DeMarcus Covington (born March 30, 1989) is an

American football American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team with ...

coach who is the

defensive coordinator A defensive coordinator is a coach responsible for a gridiron football (American football) team's defense. Generally, the defensive coordinator, the offensive coordinator and the special teams coordinator represent the second level of a team's c ...

for the

New England Patriots The New England Patriots are a professional American football team based in the Greater Boston area. They compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East divisio ...

of the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the ...

(NFL). He previously served as an assistant coach at

Eastern Illinois University Eastern Illinois University is a public university in Charleston, Illinois. Established in 1895 as the Eastern Illinois State Normal School, a teacher's college offering a two-year degree, Eastern Illinois University gradually expanded into a co ...

, the

University of Tennessee at Martin The University of Tennessee at Martin (UT Martin or UTM) is a public university in Martin, Tennessee. It is one of the five campuses of the University of Tennessee system. UTM is the only public university in West Tennessee outside of Memphis ...

University of Mississippi The University of Mississippi (byname Ole Miss) is a public research university that is located adjacent to Oxford, Mississippi, and has a medical center in Jackson. It is Mississippi's oldest public university and its largest by enrollment. ...

(Ole Miss) and

University of Alabama at Birmingham The University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) is a Public university#United States, public List of research universities in the United States, research university in Birmingham, Alabama. Developed from an academic extension center established i ...

(UAB).

Early years

Covington played collegiately at wide receiver for the NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision (FCS)

Samford Bulldogs The Samford Bulldogs are the 17 varsity teams (8 men's and 9 women's) that represent Samford University in NCAA Division I athletics. The men's basketball team made its first NCAA Tournament appearances in 1999 and 2000.They were led by Reed Raw ...

where he registered 62 receptions for 586 yards and two touchdowns from 2007 to 2010. He graduated from Samford in 2011.

Coaching career

College

DeMarcus began his coaching career a year after he graduated in

2012 File:2012 Events Collage V3.png, From left, clockwise: The passenger cruise ship Costa Concordia lies capsized after the Costa Concordia disaster; Damage to Casino Pier in Seaside Heights, New Jersey as a result of Hurricane Sandy; People gather ...

as defensive graduate assistant at the

University of Alabama-Birmingham The University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) is a Public university#United States, public List of research universities in the United States, research university in Birmingham, Alabama. Developed from an academic extension center established i ...

for the Blazers. In

2013 File:2013 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: Edward Snowden becomes internationally famous for leaking classified NSA wiretapping information; Typhoon Haiyan kills over 6,000 in the Philippines and Southeast Asia; The Dhaka garment fact ...

he went to the

Southeastern Conference The Southeastern Conference (SEC) is an American college athletic conference whose member institutions are located primarily in the South Central and Southeastern United States. Its fourteen members include the flagship public universities of ...

where he spent two seasons as a defensive graduate assistant at Ole Miss. In 2015 Covington coached the defensive line at UT Martin. This was followed by 2016 when he spent the college football season as the co-defensive coordinator and defensive line coach at

Eastern Illinois Eastern Illinois University is a public university in Charleston, Illinois. Established in 1895 as the Eastern Illinois State Normal School, a teacher's college offering a two-year degree, Eastern Illinois University gradually expanded into a co ...

New England Patriots

Covington joined the organization in and was a coaching assistant for two years before becoming the teams outside linebackers coaching in . He won his first Super Bowl title when the Patriots defeated the Los Angeles Rams in Super Bowl LIII. In

2020 2020 was heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to global Social impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, social and Economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, economic disruption, mass cancellations and postponements of events, COVID- ...

he was moved to coaching the defensive line. On February 1, 2024, he was promoted to defensive coordinator.

Personal life

Covington and wife, Natasha have two sons, Cassius and Cayman. Covington created Next Level in 2012, a non-profit football camp that serves as an outlet to the youth of his home town of

Birmingham, Alabama Birmingham ( ) is a city in the north central region of the U.S. state of Alabama. Birmingham is the seat of Jefferson County, Alabama's most populous county. As of the 2021 census estimates, Birmingham had a population of 197,575, down 1% fr ...

, for a full day of football-related drills and activities.

References

External links

New England Patriots profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Covington, DeMarcus 1989 births Living people African-American coaches of American football American football wide receivers Eastern Illinois Panthers football coaches National Football League defensive coordinators New England Patriots coaches Ole Miss Rebels football coaches Players of American football from Birmingham, Alabama Samford Bulldogs football players Sportspeople from Birmingham, Alabama UAB Blazers football coaches UT Martin Skyhawks football coaches 21st-century African-American sportspeople 20th-century African-American people Coaches of American football from Alabama