FOXBOROUGH, Mass. – In continuation of the NFL's commitment to promoting greater diversity across the NFL, the League announced plans today to host a Coach Accelerator on May 21-23 at the Spring League Meeting in Minneapolis. The Spring Accelerator follows the inaugural Coach and Front Office Accelerator and the Front Office Accelerator hosted at previous League meetings in 2022.
The New England Patriots will be represented by DeMarcus Covington at the Coach Accelerator.
The Coach Accelerator aims to increase exposure between owners, executives, and diverse coaching talent, providing ample opportunity to develop and build upon their relationships. In a change to the nomination process this year, clubs were able to nominate those from outside of their organization, which promotes recognition and growth beyond one's current club.
The 40 participants this year are attending based on their high potential to be considered for a Head Coach position in the future. Sixteen of the participants will be returning from the May 2022 Accelerator cohort.
DeMarcus Covington enters his seventh season overall with the Patriots in 2023. He joined the organization in 2017 after spending the 2016 season as co-defensive coordinator and defensive line coach at Eastern Illinois. Prior to his time with Eastern Illinois, Covington coached the defensive line at UT Martin in 2015. From 2013-14, he spent two seasons as a defensive graduate assistant at Ole Miss and in 2012, was a defensive graduate assistant at the University of Alabama-Birmingham.
In 2022, Covington coached the defensive line on a unit that ranked 8th in the NFL. Following the season, Covington was selected to serve as the defensive coordinator for the Senior Bowl's American team.
In addition to networking, further development of the participants is a critical component of the accelerator, with curated content sessions scheduled that will further engage each participant on the advancement of their executive leadership skills and Business of Football acumen.
"In the year since its inception, we've been encouraged by the positive response to the Accelerator from both club owners and participants," said NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell. "We look forward to continuing to build on an incredible program that supports diverse talent."
