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The New England Patriots aren't out of the woods yet when it comes to potentially losing assistant coaches this offseason.
The Arizona Cardinals have requested permission to interview Patriots defensive line coach DeMarcus Covington for their open defensive coordinator job, NFL Media's Ian Rapoport reported Friday.
Covington developed a relationship with new Cardinals general manager Monti Ossenfort when Ossenfort worked in New England's front office, per Rapoport. Covington has been with the Patriots since 2017 and overlapped with Ossenfort for three seasons in New England before Ossenfort joined the Tennessee Titans in 2020.
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Covington is viewed as a promising young coach and recently served as a defensive coordinator at the Senior Bowl in Mobile, Ala. The 33-year-old spent two seasons as a Patriots' coaching assistant in 2017 and 2018, moved to outside linebackers coach in 2019 and has served as the team's defensive line coach since 2020.
The Cardinals just hired former Philadelphia Eagles defensive coordinator Jonathan Gannon as their head coach and seem intent on improving a defense that allowed the second-most points per game in the NFL last season.
Covington should have plenty of competition for the job, but landing an interview would still be valuable experience for the young assistant.