The New England Patriots’ defensive staff is undergoing a major transformation this offseason: gone are signal caller/linebackers coach Brian Flores, defensive line coach Brendan Daly, and cornerbacks coach Josh Boyer. Their departures to the Miami Dolphins (Flores, Boyer) and Kansas City Chiefs (Daly) left safeties coach Steve Belichick as the lone returning position coach from last year’s defensive staff.
However, it now looks as if Belichick himself will have a new role moving forward: according to New England’s pre-draft press release, he has moved to take over Boyer’s old spot working with the cornerbacks. No other moves were announced, despite former Patriots linebacker Jerod Mayo already confirming that he has been added to the defensive coaching staff — presumably to work with the linebackers — as well.
Steve Belichick meanwhile, will change roles after working with the safeties for the previous three seasons. Before that, the Rutgers alumnus and son of Patriots head coach Bill Belichick spent four years as a coaching assistant. With him moving into Boyer’s former role, New England now needs to find a new safeties coach. 2018’s coaching assistants Brian Belichick, DeMarcus Covington and Mike Pellegrino are the most likely candidates for the job.
The other vacant positions, meanwhile, remain open as well: New England still needs a new defensive signal caller after the surprising resignation of Greg Schiano and also has not yet announced a defensive line coach yet. In case the aforementioned Jerod Mayo takes over as a defensive assistant and not a position coach right away, the Patriots will also need to hire a new linebackers coach.
[UPDATE, 8/3/19] It looks like the Patriots will not move Belichick to cornerbacks coach: according to the Providence Journal’s Mark Daniels, the team made a mistake in its press release