A look at the connections between the New England Patriots and the Houston Texans in advance of their week 2 preseason game.
NEW ENGLAND TIES
- Houston head coach Bill O'Brien was born in Dorchester, Mass., grew up in Andover, and attended St. John's Prep in Danvers. O'Brien also played linebacker and defensive end at Brown from 1990-92 and later coached at the university.
- Texans wide receivers coach John Perry graduated from New Hampshire and later coached at the university in addition to stints at Northeastern, Brown, Dartmouth and Merrimack College.
- Houston quarterbacks coach Sean Ryan coached at Boston College from 2001-02 and also worked at Harvard for the 2006 season.
- Texans TE Ryan Griffin went to Connecticut and is originally from Londonderry, N.H.
- Texans ILB Sio Moore also played at Connecticut and calls West Haven, Conn., his hometown.
- Texans T Breno Giacomini hails from Malden, Mass., and attended Malden High School.
TEXAS TIES
- Patriots DL Malcom Brown went to Texas and is originally from Brenham, Texas.
- New England OL Marcus Cannon went to Texas Christian and is originally from Odessa, Texas.
- Patriots OL Cameron Fleming is originally from Houston, Texas, and played his high school career at Cyprus Creek.
- New England LB Elandon Roberts went to Houston and is originally from Port Arthur, Texas.
- Patriots DB Eric Rowe is originally from Klein, Texas.
- New England OL LaAdrian Waddle went to Texas Tech and is originally from Columbus, Texas.
- Patriots DL Deatrich Wise, Jr. is from Carrollton, Texas, and attended Hebron High School.
- Patriots wide receivers coach Chad O'Shea was born in Houston, Texas, and coached at the University of Houston from 1996-99.
- Patriots WR Danny Amendola went to Texas Tech and is originally from The Woodlands, Texas.
- Patriots RB Rex Burkhead hails from Plano, Texas, and attended Plano High School where he was a standout dual-sport athlete, earning multiple district and state honors in both football and basketball.
- Patriots DL Adam Butler is from Duncanville, Texas, and was a two-time captain on the football team at Duncanville High School.
- Patriots offensive line coach Dante Scarnecchia had two different coaching stints at Southern Methodist University, first as an offensive line assistant in 1975-76 and later as the offensive line coach in 1980-81.
FORMER PATRIOTS
- Houston head coach Bill O'Brien spent the 2007-11 seasons in New England. The Andover, Mass., native was the Patriots offensive assistant in 2007, wide receivers coach in 2008, quarterbacks coach from 2009-10 and offensive coordinator/quarterbacks in 2011.
- Texans assistant head coach/defense Romeo Crennel was the defensive coordinator for the Patriots from 2001-04 and coached New England's defensive line from 1993-96.
- Texans defensive coordinator Mike Vrabelplayed for the Patriots from 2001- 08. He appeared in 125 games for New England and totaled 396 tackles during his time with the team.
- Texans special teams coordinator Larry Izzo played for the Patriots from 2001- 08, winning three Super Bowls with the team and being selected to the Pro Bowl twice during that time.
- Texans offensive/special teams assistant Wes Welkerhad a six-year playing career with the Patriots from 2007-12. He was selected to the Pro Bowl or All-Pro team every year of his Patriots career and still holds the top five single-season reception totals in franchise history.
FORMER TEXANS
- Patriots director of college scouting Monti Ossenfort gained his first personnel experience in the league as an intern with the Texans in 2002 and later became a college scout for the club.
FORMER NFL TEAMMATES
- Patriots RB Mike Gillislee and Texans RB Lamar Miller were teammates at Miami from 2013-14. Patriots LB Jonathan Freeny and OL Jamil Douglas also played with Miller at Miami.
- Houston T Chris Clark played for the Vikings when New England defensive line coachBrendan Daly was a defensive assistant and defensive line coach in Minnesota.
- Clark also played in Denver when Patriots offensive coordinator/quarterbacks coach Josh McDaniels was the head coach of the Broncos.
- Houston CB Johnathan Josephand Patriots FB James Develin were teammates at the Cincinnati Bengals.
- Texans assistant head coach/defense Romeo Crennelcoached with New England head coachBill Belichickat the New York Giants from 1981-90 and at the New York Jets from 1997-99.
- Texans defensive line coach Anthony Weaver worked in Buffalo when Patriots DL Alan Branch and WR Chris Hogan played for the Bills.
- Weaver also coached in Cleveland when Patriots RB Dion Lewis played for the Browns.
- Patriots DL Lawrence Guy played with Texans K Nick Novak at San Diego.
- Patriots RB Dion Lewis and Texans QB Brandon Weeden were teammates at Cleveland.
FORMER COLLEGE TEAMMATES
- Patriots RB James White played one season (2010) with Texans DE J.J. Watt at Wisconsin.
- Texans CB Kareem Jacksonplayed at Alabama when Patriots special teams coordinator Joe Judge and LB Dont'a Hightower were with the Crimson Tide.
- Patriots CB Stephon Gilmore was college teammates with Texans DE Jadeveon Clowneyat South Carolina for one season in 2011.
- Patriots TE Dwayne Allen and Texans WR DeAndre Hopkinsplayed together at Clemson University from 2010-11.
- Texans QB Tom Savage played with Patriots DB Devin McCourty, DB Duron Harmon and LB Jonathan Freeny at Rutgers.
- Houston S Corey Moore played at Georgia with Patriots WR Malcolm Mitchell and C David Andrews.
- Texans S Eddie Pleasant played with Patriots S Patrick Chung at Oregon.
- Houston FB Jay Prosch and Patriots DB Jonathan Jones were teammates at Auburn.
- Texans defensive assistant Shane Bowen worked at Georgia Tech when Patriots OL Shaq Mason played for the Yellow Jackets.
- Patriots DB Nate Ebner played for at Ohio State when Texans defensive coordinator Mike Vrabel was an assistant coach for the Buckeyes. Ebner was also a college teammate of Texans WR Braxton Miller at Ohio State.
- Patriots DB Dwayne Thomas was college teammates with Texans RB Alfred Blue at LSU.
- Texans TE C.J. Fiedorowiczplayed with Patriots OL Cole Croston, RB LeShun Daniels, Jr., and OL James Ferentz at Iowa.
- Patriots DB Jonathan Jones and DB Brandon King played with Texans FB Jay Proschat Auburn.
