When linebacker Dont’a Hightower joined New England from Alabama in the first round of the 2012 NFL Draft, Patriots linebacker Jerod Mayo already had won The Associated Press NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year Award, earned first-team All-Pro recognition and led the league in tackles.

Mayo and Hightower played together for four seasons, during which New England reached the AFC Championship Game annually and won Super Bowl XLIX over the Seattle Seahawks 28-24.

After retiring, Mayo returned to the Patriots as linebackers coach and worked with Hightower for two more seasons.

Now Mayo and Hightower are together again in New England, with Mayo tabbed to succeed Bill Belichick’s 24-season tenure as the Patriots head coach, and Hightower coming aboard to coach the team’s linebackers.

Mayo explained why he brought Hightower back to New England during a Wednesday press conference.

“Hightower, he was my little brother when he got here,” Mayo said. “One of the smartest players that I’ve been around. We’ve been talking about this for a while, I’ll be honest with you. We’ve been talking about it for a while.

“Hightower has always really wanted to coach. He was a coach on the field. Obviously, he took the torch and kind of ran with it as far as the championships and the leadership skills that he has. It was very important. But it wasn’t like yesterday, ‘Hey, man, you want to be my linebackers coach?’ This was an extensive search process.”

RELATED: COULD MAC JONES BE NEW ENGLAND’S STARTING QB AGAIN? ‘EVERYTHING IS ON THE TABLE’

Mayo was injured and didn’t play in New England’s Super Bowl victory over the Seahawks.

Hightower made one of the key plays for the Patriots in that game. On the Seattle offense’s next-to-last snap of Super Bowl XLIX, Hightower brought down Seahawks running back Marshawn Lynch at the New England 1-yard line despite playing with a torn labrum. On the next snap, cornerback Malcolm Butler intercepted a pass by quarterback Russell Wilson to seal the Patriots’ championship.

After Mayo retired, Hightower played on two more Super Bowl-winning teams, and, as he had in Super Bowl XLIX, made key plays in both.

In Super Bowl LI, Hightower caused Atlanta Falcons quarterback Matt Ryan to fumble, and the Patriots recovered the loose football at the Atlanta 25-yard line with 8:24 left in the fourth quarter. New England trailed by 16 points at the time, and the turnover continued the comeback from a 25-point deficit that yielded a 34-28 overtime victory.

In Super Bowl LIII, Hightower registered two sacks, three quarterback hits and a pass breakup in the Patriots’ 13-3 victory over the Los Angeles Rams.

Mayo said his advice to Hightower for his first season in coaching was “just to be a sponge, the same way that he was when he came in as a player. Just try to learn from as many people as possible.”

At Alabama, Hightower earned consensus All-American recognition for the Crimson Tide’s 2011 BCS national-championship team.

FOR MORE OF AL.COM’S COVERAGE OF THE NFL, GO TO OUR NFL PAGE

Mark Inabinett is a sports reporter for Alabama Media Group. Follow him on Twitter at @AMarkG1.