Mayo: Search for LB coach was extensive, talked to Hightower ‘for a while’ originally appeared on NBC Sports Boston
The New England Patriots introduced their new staff on Wednesday afternoon, officially marking the end of the Bill Belichick era and the beginning of Jerod Mayo’s tenure. The media had a chance to catch up with New England’s new head coach Thursday, leading to questions regarding Mayo’s new staff and how they were selected.
Being a former Patriots player himself, Mayo chose to bring on one of his old teammates Dont’a Hightower to his staff, hiring the three-time Super Bowl Champion to be New England’s new inside linebackers coach. Despite Hightower’s lack of true coaching experience, Mayo is confident in the decision based on seeing his leadership on the field.
“Hightower, he was my little brother when he got here and one of the smartest players that I’ve been around,” Mayo said at a press conference Thursday. “We’ve been talking about this for a while. I’ll be honest with you. We’ve been talking about it for a while. Hightower has always really wanted to coach. He was a coach on the field. Obviously, he took the torch and ran with it.”
Still just 33 years old, Hightower dominated opposing offenses from 2012 to 2021, all spent as a linebacker in New England. The former first-round pick out of Alabama logged 569 tackles and 27 sacks, along with 18 pass deflections and two interceptions. On top of his five forced fumbles, the 2011 All-American also tallied two defensive touchdowns during his time with the Patriots.
While some might believe that Mayo hired Hightower on a whim, just doing an old friend a favor, the new Patriots head coach assured the media this was a smart, thought-out hire.
“As far as the championships and the leadership skills that he has, it was very important,” Mayo added of Hightower. “But it wasn’t like a yesterday, ‘hey man, you want to be my linebacker coach?’ This was an extensive search.”
Only 37 himself, it wasn’t long ago that…
Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/mayo-search-lb-coach-extensive-005841200.html
Author : NBC Sports Boston
Publish date : 2024-02-22 01:17:09
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