Three-Time Super Bowl Champ Leaves Patriots Coaching Staff
It could be the start of a new day for the New England Patriots, who have been deep in the wilderness ever since quarterback Tom Brady left following the 2019 season.
They may have their next franchise quarterback in Drake Maye, who just completed a promising rookie season, and they have a new head coach in Mike Vrabel.
Vrabel has been assembling his coaching staff since getting hired, but one former Patriots star will not be on that staff.
“Dont’a Hightower out as Patriots inside linebackers coach,” WEEI wrote on X.
Dont’a Hightower out as Patriots inside linebackers coach #NEPats pic.twitter.com/pNKRZymf8E
— WEEI (@WEEI) January 27, 2025
Jerod Mayo was hired as head coach a year ago after the Patriots parted with Bill Belichick, and Mayo was promptly fired just after their final regular season game a few weeks ago.
Patriots fans remember Hightower as a cornerstone during the later years of the Brady-Belichick dynasty, when he made two Pro Bowls and was a member of the team’s last three Super Bowl championships.
He was a first-round pick by the Patriots in the 2012 NFL Draft, and his most memorable moment came in the waning moments of Super Bowl XLIX.
On the play before Malcolm Butler intercepted that ill-advised pass attempt by Seattle Seahawks quarterback Russell Wilson, Hightower tacked running back Marshawn Lynch on the 1-yard line, and that series of plays preserved the championship for New England.
The team now has the No. 4 overall pick in the 2025 NFL Draft as well as lots of salary cap space to use toward building a team that could compete for another championship in the coming years.
NEXT: Insider Provides Honest Thoughts On Josh McDaniels Rejoining Patriots
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