Dont’a Hightower – New England Football Journal®

Hiring of Hightower has been in the works for a while

February 22, 2024

Image courtesy of Nancy Lane (MediaNews Group/Boston Herald) Almost everyone that grew up a Patriots fan was ecstatic to hear that Dont’a Hightower would be joining Jerod Mayo’s staff as a linebackers coach. Almost everyone. There was a small segment of fans that felt this was just a friendship hire. As good as ‘High’ was for the franchise, after so much nepotism throughout the years on the Patriots staff, some…

Patriots hire Dont’a Hightower as linebackers coach

February 10, 2024

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Jerod Mayo has hired a familiar face on the defensive side of the ball. Former Patriots two-time pro bowler and three-time Super Bowl champion Dont’a Hightower is back as linebackers coach. Hightower was a 2012 first round draft pick of the Patriots out of Alabama. He played ten seasons with the Patriots. Mayo spoke last spring about Hightower’s coaching potential. “I think Hightower would be a phenomenal coach,” Mayo told…

Patriots: Top Patriots Free Agent Decisions

February 9, 2022

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The Patriots will have some significant players hit free agency this offseason and will have some hard decisions to make. Ideally, they would be able to bring back most of them, but there will be a great player or two not playing in New England next year. Here is a look at some of the most notable players on expiring contracts New England has: Devin McCourty– McCourty was drafted by…

Patriots: Pats leave fans with more questions than answers in 27-17 loss to the Colts

December 19, 2021

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Photo: AJ Mast/AP With three games left in the regular season, do we know who this Patriots team is yet? With a somewhat jarring 27-17 loss in Indianapolis on Saturday night, New England not only had its seven-game winning streak snapped, but also lost a grasp on the No. 1 seed in the AFC. For the first time since October, the Patriots looked like a team with an inexperienced rookie…

Patriots: No such thing as a must win game in Week 2, but the defense needs to assert dominance

September 17, 2021

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So what happens if the Patriots lose to the Jets on Sunday? You’re 0-2 coming home with the Saints and some guy named Tom Brady waiting the next two weeks. New England probably falls to 0-4 and for all intents and purposes the season is over. That’s worst case scenario. However, if the the Patriots do lose on Sunday, the season isn’t over and there’s one reason why. The defense….

Patriots: The return of Hightower, Chung and Cannon could help the Patriots assuming they are on the roster

February 27, 2021

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NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport reported yesterday that linebacker Dont’a Hightower, safety Patrick Chung and offensive tackle Marcus Cannon all plan on playing in 2021. From NFL Now: The #Patriots are getting the band back together, with key opt-outs opting back in… Meanwhile, it's far more uncertain for WR Julian Edelman. pic.twitter.com/Uu2dXjTznU — Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) February 26, 2021 On the surface, that is great news as the Patriots clearly missed…

Patriots Pulse Blog: Positional Breakdown: Linebackers

August 16, 2018

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The success of the Patriots linebacking corp will once again hinge on the health of WILL linebacker Dont’a Hightower. Hightower missed 11 regular season games and three playoff games last season with a torn pectoral muscle. The Patriots need Hightower to play an entire season. He is the leader of the defense. He makes all the calls, all the checks and he plays in all packages. The Patriots defense has…