New England Patriots hire former All-Pro Dont’a Hightower to coach linebackers

The New England Patriots are reportedly hiring former All-Pro Dont’a Hightower to coach linebackers, Sports Trust Agency revealed on Friday. Hightower will join the staff of his former teammate Jerod Mayo as he attempts to fill the very large shoes of their former head coach Bill Belichick.

A three-time Super Bowl Champion, Hightower retired from playing in the NFL in 2021. After opting out of the 2020 season amid the COVID-19 pandemic, he returned in 2021 to play 15 games and put up solid numbers. He finished his career with 569 total tackles, 353 solo tackles, 27 sacks, one interception, 18 pass deflections, five fumble recoveries, two forced fumbles, two touchdowns and one safety.

Now, Hightower will take all the learned experience from his playing career to help Mayo develop the linebackers on the Patriots defense. He played every season of his career for New England, earning Second-Team All-Pro in 2016, which was a Super Bowl title year for the Patriots. He also earned two Pro Bowl nods in 2016 and 2019.

Hightower was the No. 25 overall pick out of Alabama in the first round of the 2012 NFL Draft. He was a two-time BCS National Champion with the Crimson Tide and was a Consensus All-American in 2011, his final collegiate season.

Alonzo Highsmith leaves Miami to join Patriots front office

This week, the Patriots front office made a key addition. Alonzo Highsmith decided to leave his role as the GM of football operations with the Miami Hurricanes and join the New England Patriots front office.

Prior to Miami, the former NFL executive served as a senior executive advisor to Seattle Seahawks GM John Schneider. During his playing days with Miami, Highsmith helped lead the Hurricanes to their first national title in 1983 under head coach Howard Schnellenberger.

He finished his collegiate career with 1,914 rushing yards (third in school history), 2,935 all-purpose rushing yards (fifth in school history), 25 career touchdowns (tied for fourth place in school history), and five 100-yard rushing games (tied for second in school history).

In 1997, Highsmith was inducted into the University of Miami Sports Hall of Fame. One of the top running backs in Hurricanes school history — he was great at both blocking and catching passes in the open field.

As a player in the NFL, Highsmith suited up for three different teams–the Houston Oilers (1987-1989), the Dallas Cowboys (1990-1991), and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers (1991-1992).

On3’s Wade Peery contributed to this report.