Patriots Reportedly Interviewed This Coach After Promoting DeMarcus Covington

In promoting DeMarcus Covington to defensive coordinator, the Patriots filled one coaching hole while creating another.

Covington excelled as New England's defensive line coach over the last four seasons, earning the right to become the franchise's first D-coordinator since 2017. And the Patriots reportedly are hard at work in finding his replacement.

"Green Bay defensive line coach Jerry Montgomery interviewed with the Patriots on Saturday as Jeff Hafley comes on board as the new GB defensive coordinator," Boston Sports Journal's Greg Bedard wrote Sunday. "Montgomery is well-respected throughout the league for the work he did under three different defensive coordinators and with players such as Mike Daniels and Kenny Clark."

Montgomery coached in college from 2003 through 2014 before joining the Packers in 2015. He spent the last nine seasons in Green Bay, including the last six as a defensive line coach.

The interest in Montgomery offers another indication that Eliot Wolf has become New England's de facto general manager.

Wolf, who began his NFL front-office career with the Packers, reportedly was "driving the bus" on the Patriots' decision to hire offensive coordinator Alex Van Pelt, with whom Wolf overlapped in Green Bay. The Patriots reportedly also have shown interest in hiring Ben McAdoo, who also overlapped with Wolf in Green Bay.

With New England now in need of running backs and linebackers coaches, don't be surprised if the Patriots interview more coaches with Packers ties.