Patriots Retaining Key Member Of Defensive Coaching Staff

The Patriots have undergone a ton change throughout the early portion of their offseason, but the defensive coaching staff remains one area that has largely been untouched.

If it ain't broke don't fix it, right?

New England elevated Jerod Mayo to head coach and DeMarcus Covington to defensive coordinator, with the duo elevating their roles on the staff and essentially replacing the departing Bill and Steve Belichick. The Patriots retained safeties coach Brian Belichick, though, and added his partner in the defensive backfield to the list of names returning in 2024-25.

Patriots cornerbacks coach Mike Pellegrino is returning on the team's "revamped" coaching staff, according to Mike Reiss of ESPN. He's expected to remain in the same position, where he spent each of the last five seasons.

Pellegrino, 30, has been with the Patriots for nearly a decade, joining as a coaching assistant in 2015. He's done quite the job with New England's secondary, despite dealing with a number of headaches relating to Jack Jones and J.C. Jackson. He's well equipped to lead his unit to a bounce-back season, with the ever-steady Jonathan Jones set to return alongside Christian Gonzalez and Marcus Jones -- both of whom saw promising seasons end early in 2023.

The Patriots don't have many spots left on their defensive coaching staff. Jerry Montgomery replaced Covington and will coach the defensive line, leaving linebacker as the only position group without a coach. New England split those duties between Mayo and Steve Belichick over the last few seasons, so there could be multiple names added.