Dont’a Hightower to Return as Patriots LB Coach

Last spring, Jerod Mayo was asked about Dont’a Hightower’s potential as a coach, and Mayo didn’t hold back.

“I think Hightower would be a phenomenal coach,” Mayo told reporters. “So we’ll see. When I get a chance to run my own ship, I’ll try to recruit him.”

Recruit him he did and on Friday, Hightower’s Sports Trust Advisors agency announced that the three-time Super Bowl champion Hightower would be joining the Patriots coaching staff as a linebackers coach. A 2012 first-round pick, Hightower made an instant impact out of Alabama, recovering a fumble for a scoop-and-score in his very first game and going on to record some of the biggest and most important defensive plays in Patriots Super Bowl history.

The addition of Hightower should round out new defensive coordinator DeMarcus Covington’s staff, with Hightower joining reported new defensive line coach Jerry Montgomery, along with the anticipated returns of Brian Belichick (safeties) and Mike Pellegrino (cornerbacks). An outside linebackers coach remains another possibility after Steve Belichick’s departure to the University of Washington.

In the announcement’s graphic, Hightower shared a message with fans, “I’m home.”