'Coach' Dont'a Hightower Returning to Patriots?

Wait, could Dont'a Hightower be returning to the New England Patriots? If Jerod Mayo has his preference, he will indeed ... as a coach.

While new offensive coordinator Bill O'Brien stole the show in Foxboro this week with his "clean slate" pronouncement, it was Mayo who hinted that the former star linebacker could someday return to the organization.

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

The two, of course, won a Super Bowl for the Patriots as linebackers. Now they could end up on the same coaching staff.

“I got a chance to play beside him. I got a chance to coach him," Mayo said. "There aren’t many people like Hightower in terms of just his smarts. I think that gets overlooked a lot with High. You talk about Randy Moss, no one really talks about his smarts, very smart football player. And that’s Dont’a Hightower.”

Mayo hinting he'll someday recruit Hightower has merit because of his seemingly increased power in the Patriots' coaching hierarchy. He not only signed a new contract this offseason - turning down head-coaching interviews with other teams in the process - he is considered the leading candidate to be successor to Bill Belichick if and when the 71-year-old retires.