The NFL coaching carousel is spinning again, and one of the hottest names on the defensive side of the ball right now is Green Bay Packers defensive line coach and run game coordinator Demarcus Covington. This week, Covington’s name popped up in connection with not one, but two defensive coordinator vacancies - first with the Dallas Cowboys, and now with the New York Jets, who have already completed their interview with him as part of a wide-ranging search.
Covington’s rise has been steady and well-earned. He’s already worn the defensive coordinator headset before - with the 2024 New England Patriots - and he’s part of a small circle of Packers assistants who’ve logged NFL experience outside of Green Bay. That kind of résumé doesn’t go unnoticed, especially in a league where defensive minds are in high demand.
In Green Bay, Covington took over a defensive line room that had been through some turbulence. The Packers had tried back-to-back internal promotions at the position, and neither panned out.
First came Jerry Montgomery, a holdover from the Dom Capers, Mike Pettine, and Joe Barry eras. Montgomery was let go in 2023 after a long tenure and spent 2024 with the Patriots before landing with the Bengals - whose defense, it’s worth noting, finished near the bottom of the league in DVOA across the board this year.
Montgomery’s replacement, Jason Rebrovich, didn’t fare much better. Promoted in 2023 from pass-rush specialist to defensive line coach, Rebrovich was tasked with leading the Packers’ transition to a 4-3 front under new defensive coordinator Jeff Hafley.
That experiment lasted just one season. Rebrovich was let go last offseason and is now an assistant defensive line coach in Buffalo, where the Bills’ run defense ranks second-to-last in rushing DVOA.
Enter Covington - a fresh voice with real NFL play-calling experience and a hands-on approach that’s already making waves. While Green Bay’s defensive line wasn’t flawless this season, there’s no denying Covington’s impact, especially when you zoom in on individual development.
Micah Parsons, before his injury, was playing the best football of his career under Covington’s watch. That’s saying something, considering Parsons has already established himself as one of the league’s most disruptive forces.
Then there’s Lukas Van Ness, the former first-round pick, who showed real flashes late in the season. His performances against the Ravens and Bears were arguably the best of his young career, and they came after a foot injury had slowed him earlier in the year.
That kind of late-season surge tends to speak volumes about coaching.
But Covington wasn’t working with a full deck. The interior of the Packers' defensive line was a revolving door, largely due to circumstances out of his control.
Nose tackle Kenny Clark - long the anchor of the defensive front - was traded just before the season. Devonte Wyatt, expected to step up in Clark’s absence, missed significant time with injury.
That left the Packers scrambling, even turning to Colby Wooden - a 273-pound rookie at the 2023 combine - to play nose tackle. Wooden has since bulked up, but that wasn’t the plan going into the season.
The move only happened because Parsons unexpectedly became available and Clark was part of the price tag.
Despite the challenges, Green Bay’s defense often came out of the gates strong. In fact, early in games, they looked elite - fast, physical, and well-coordinated.
But as the minutes ticked by, the lack of depth up front started to show. It was like the defensive line had a shot clock on them - after that first 15-play drive, the legs gave out, and the energy didn’t return.
That’s not a knock on Covington. If anything, it highlights how much he was able to do with a thin, injury-riddled unit.
It’s also why his name keeps surfacing in coaching circles. Whether it’s the Cowboys, the Jets, or another team looking for a defensive spark, Covington is firmly in the mix.
And if Packers defensive coordinator Jeff Hafley or even head coach Matt LaFleur were to move on, don’t be surprised if Covington is a top candidate to step up in Green Bay as well. His stock is rising - and fast.