GREEN BAY, Wis. – Green Bay Packers coach Matt LaFleur filled two important holes on his coaching staff by hiring DeMarcus Covington to lead the defensive line and promoting Sean Mannion as quarterbacks coach, according to ESPN.com’s Rob Demovsky.
Covington, a college receiver at Samford, got his first coaching job as a graduate assistant at UAB in 2012 and Ole Miss in 2013 and 2014. He got his first NFL job with the New England Patriots as a coaching assistant in 2017.
He spent eight seasons with the Patriots, going to outside linebackers coach in 2019 – the last of the Patriots’ championship seasons – defensive line coach from 2020 through 2023 and defensive coordinator last season.
New Patriots coach Mike Vrabel opted not to keep Covington on his new staff.
Former Packers executive Eliot Wolf, who is the Patriots’ director of scouting, had a role in Covington moving into the coordinator role last season.
Covington twice was listed in Tom Pelissero’s “Young NFL Coaches to Watch” story for NFL.com. He was highly regarded after being a defensive coordinator for the Senior Bowl in 2023.
“When you turn on the tape, 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 the opponent,” Covington said upon being promoted.
“That’s what we are looking for from our defense and a team that goes out there and plays together and for one another. That type of togetherness is what we are really looking for.”
Veteran defensive end Deatrich Wise spent all eight seasons in New England alongside Covington.
“DeMarcus Covington is a very intelligent coach,” Wise told Mass Live. “Being able to read offenses and he’s always been able to break down other teams to be prepared for them. He’s a very intelligent coach. Very passionate coach. Loves to give speeches to the team and get everybody fired up.”
Wise said Covington does a good job in motivating his players.
“He brings the best out of guys when he speaks,” he said. “Very passionate. Not very loud, but when he does speak, his voice is heard.”
Wise said Covington was good at seeing the “big picture” and not just his own group.
“He has a great understanding of the entire defense and scheme,” Wise told The Boston Herald in November. “He can coach defensive line, linebackers and defensive backs. He sees the big picture. He’s a good players’ coach and can control the room.”
From 2020 through 2023, when Covington led the Patriots’ defensive line, New England was sixth in yards allowed per carry and 22nd in sacks. In 2024, with Covington leading the defense, the Patriots were 14th in yards allowed per carry and 32nd in sack percentage.
That New England defensive front didn’t have a single first-round pick. With the Packers, he’ll be taking over a high-profile group. Defensive tackles Kenny Clark and Devonte Wyatt and defensive ends Rashan Gary and Lukas Van Ness entered the NFL as first-round picks.
“The man’s got the wisdom,” said Patriots defensive tackle Christian Barmore, who had 8.5 sacks in 2023 but missed most of 2024. “He has the mentality and he knows a lot. He’s really a smart coach. I think he does have a chance to be a head coach one day.”
Under Rebrovich, those four combined for merely 16.5 sacks last year.
At Samford, Covington was a three-year starting receiver. While there, he learned what it took to become a coach.
“I learned about the week-in and week-out preparation,” Covington told Samford.edu in 2018. “At Samford they try to teach you to prepare weekly for the opponent. And that’s really the same way we preach in coaching, trying to get our players to prepare week-in and week-out for each opponent. Because every opponent isn’t the same. So, you have to approach each week differently and learn the ins and outs of preparing for each opponent for what they are capable of doing.
“Going into coaching, you have to understand, watch film, get to know your opponent the best you can so you can go out there and play fast.”
As for the promotion of Mannion, which was confirmed by a source, this was the expected move after quarterbacks coach Tom Clements told LaFleur that was going to retire.
Mannion was an NFL quarterback from 2015 through 2021, including 2017 with the Los Angeles Rams, when LaFleur was the offensive coordinator. As an offensive assistant, Mannion got to develop a relationship with Jordan Love and backup Malik Willis.
