The New England Patriots are going to look a lot different in 2024 than they have in decades. This is the first time this century that the team will not be led on the field by head coach Bill Belichick.
Belichick was relieved of his duties as head coach earlier this offseason, and replaced by his defensive coordinator, Jerod Mayo. Mayo has some massive shoes to fill as Belichick is arguably the greatest head coach of all time.
Replacing a legend is never an easy thing to do, especially one who was as successful as Belichick. He won six Super Bowls and appeared in nine overall. Mayo’s tallest task will be getting a dormant offense back on track, but many people will be interested to see what the defense looks like.
NFL News & Rumors: DeMarcus Covington, Jerod Mayo, Bill Belichick, New England Patriots Updates
That side of the ball was essentially run by Belichick throughout his tenure with the team. Offensively, the team left a lot to be desired, but on defense, the Patriots almost always found success under Belichick. Routinely they were ranked in the top 10 of yards and points allowed.
How differently could things look this year? In the opinion of new defensive coordinator DeMarcus Covington, things likely won’t change a ton with Mayo taking over as head coach in Belichick’s place.
“I would say the defense wouldn’t change as much, but when you turn on the tape, I think what we want to see is a physical team, a team that plays with good discipline and fundamentals, and a team that attacks the football and takes it away from an opponent,” Covington said recently. “That’s what we’re trying to look for with our defense, and you know, a team that goes out there and plays together for one another. That type of togetherness, that’s what we’re really looking for.”
Covington has been with the Patriots since 2017, most recently serving as defensive line coach before being promoted to defensive coordinator. The biggest change for Covington and this unit will be that he is now calling the plays, not Belichick’s son, Steve.
Given how long many of these coaches worked under or played for Belichick, there is an expectation some things will remain the same. As Covington said, a foundation has already been laid; it is now his job to build upon it.
NFL News & Rumors: DeMarcus Covington, Jerod Mayo, Bill Belichick, New England Patriots Updates
“There’s a good foundation of players that laid the foundation of this defense even before I got here,” Covington said. “And then we’re adding, so the foundation, that’s what starts with everything. If the foundation is built solid, you can continue to add on top of it and it won’t fall. So that foundation was set before me, and then we just continued to add on to that foundation, which our players continue to add on to our foundation, and then the coaches that we’re bringing in and the coaches that we have just continue to build on that.”
It will be interesting to see what kind of work Covington does in a new role. Belichick always did a good job of getting the most out of players that may not have been the most talented or athletic players, but they came together as a group.
Will Covington and Mayo be able to rally players as successfully as Belichick did? Only time will tell, but keeping some continuity from the Belichick era is certainly a good idea, at least on defense.
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