Former Patriots O-Line Coach Reportedly Lands New NFL Job

Cole Popovich is back in the NFL.

Aaron Wilson of KPRC2 in Houston on Wednesday reported Popovich is set to join the Texans as an assistant offensive line coach. This marks Popovich’s first job in the league since he left the Patriots coaching staff ahead of the 2021 season. The 38-year-old’s New England departure reportedly was for reasons relating to the COVID-19 vaccine and NFL guidelines for the ’21 season.

After spending time with four different colleges between 2011 and 2015, Popovich joined Bill Belichick’s staff in 2016 as a coaching assistant, a role he held for three seasons in Foxboro. The California native was promoted to assistant running backs coach in 2019 and served as the co-offensive line coach in 2020. Most recently, Popovich was the O-line coach for Troy in the 2022 college football season.

The reported hiring of Popovich marked yet another coaching change for the Texans since their season ended. Houston hired former NFL linebacker DeMeco Ryans as its new head coach at the end of January.