A look at the connections between the New England Patriots and Chicago Bears.
NEW ENGLAND TIES
- Chicago TE Ben Braunecker played at Harvard from 2012- 15, recording 68 receptions for 1,168 yards and 10 touchdowns.
- Bears defensive coordinator Vic Fangio worked as the defensive coordinator at Milford Academy in Connecticut in 1982.
- Chicago defensive quality control coach Sean Desai grew up in Shelton, Conn. and coached the running backs, specials teams and defensive backs for Boston College in 2012.
- Bears offensive line coach Harry Hiestand played at Springfield College from 1978-79.
- Bears linebackers coach Glenn Pires grew up in New Bedford, Mass. and played collegiately at Springfield. He also coached the defensive line and linebackers at Dartmouth from 1985-88.
ILLINOIS TIES
- Patriots OL Ted Karras played for Illinois from 2012-15 and was a two-time All-Big Ten honoree.
FORMER PATRIOTS
- Bears DT Akiem Hicks played for the Patriots in 2015 after being traded from New Orleans. In his year in New England, Hicks played in 13 games, recording 21 tackles, three sacks and one fumble recovery.
- Chicago running backs coach Charles London got his start in the NFL as a coaching intern for the Patriots in 2005.
FORMER BEARS
- Patriots QB Brian Hoyer played the 2016 season in Chicago. Hoyer played in six games, throwing for 1,445 yards and six touchdowns.
- Patriots running backs coach Ivan Fears coached the receivers in Chicago from 1993-98.
FORMER NFL TEAMMATES
- Chicago LB Khalil Mack played with Patriots WR Cordarrelle Patterson in Oakland in 2017.
- Bears defensive backs coach Ed Donatell coached the secondary in Denver while Patriots offensive coordinator/ quarterbacks coach Josh McDaniels was head coach of the Broncos and director of pro personnel Dave Ziegler worked in the Denver scouting department. Additionally, Chicago defensive line coach Jay Rodgers was the defensive quality control coach for the Broncos at the time.
- Bears WR Taylor Gabriel shared the field with Patriots WR Josh Gordon, QB Brian Hoyer and DL Danny Shelton on Cleveland. Shelton also played with Bears K Cody Parkey in 2016.
- Bears special teams coordinator Chris Tabor worked as the special teams coordinator from Cleveland from 2011-17 and coached Patriots WR Josh Gordon, QB Brian Hoyer, DL Danny Shelton and DB Jason McCourty.
- Patriots DE Adrian Clayborn played with Bears WR Taylor Gabriel on Atlanta from 2016-17.
- Patriots DL Lawrence Guy played for Baltimore with Bears TE Daniel Brown and LS Patrick Scales.
- Patriots director of college scouting Monti Ossenfort worked in the Houston scouting department when Bears defensive coordinator Vic Fangio worked in the same role for the Texans from 2002-05. Additionally, Bears quarterbacks coach Dave Ragone played quarterback for the Texans at the time. in 2012, teaming up with Bears OT Bobby Massie.
- Bears FB Michael Burton teamed up with Patriots LB Kyle Van Noy and OL LaAdrian Waddle on Detroit.
- Bears OT Bradley Sowell played for Indianapolis with Patriots TE Dwayne Allen and DL Lawrence Guy in 2012. Additionally, Bears assistant defensive backs coach Roy Anderson coached the safeties for the Colts when Allen, Guy and WR Phillip Dorsett played there.
- Patriots director of pro personnel Dave Ziegler worked in the scouting department for the Broncos in 2012 when Denver drafted Bears LB Danny Trevathan.
- Chicago TE Trey Burton and K Cody Parkey played with New England DB Eric Rowe and RB Kenjon Barner on Philadelphia. Bears QB Chase Daniel also played with Barner on the Eagles in 2016.
- Patriots LB Nicholas Grigsby played with Bears RB Benny Cunningham for the Rams in 2016.
- Patriots OL Trent Brown (2015-17) and QB Brian Hoyer (2017) teamed up with Bears LB Aaron Lynch in San Francisco. Bears assistant defensive backs coach Roy Anderson also coached the safeties in San Francisco in 2016.
- Bears running backs coach Charles London coached in the same role for the Texans in 2015 when Patriots QB Brian Hoyer and DE John Simon played for Houston.
- Patriots DB Jason McCourty played for Tennessee in 2011 when Bears running backs coach Charles London worked as an offensive assistant/quality control coach and quarterbacks coach Dave Ragone worked in the same role for the Titans.
RELATED: **Game Preview: Patriots at Bears**
FORMER COLLEGE TEAMMATES
- Patriots WR Phillip Dorsett played with Bears SS Deon Bush (2012-14) and P Pat O'Donnell (2013) at Miami. Chicago defensive quality control coach Sean Desai also worked as the assistant director of football operations in 2012.
- Bears outside linebackers coach Brandon Staley coached Patriots WR Cordarrelle Patterson at both Tennessee in 2012 as a graduate assistant and as the associate head coach/defensive coordinator at Hutchinson Community College (2010- 11).
- Bears DE Jonathan Bullard teamed up with Patriots DB J.C. Jackson and OL Trent Brown at Florida. Chicago TE Trey Burton also played with Brown at Florida in 2013.
- Patriots DB Duron Harmon played for Rutgers with Bears FB Michael Burton from 2010-12. Bears DB Marcus Cooper Sr. also played with Harmon and Patriots DB Devin McCourty.
- Chicago LB Leonard Floyd played for Georgia with Patriots OL David Andrews and RB Sony Michel. Michel also played with Bears LB Roquan Smith and WR Javon Wims.
- Patriots RB Kenjon Barner played with Bears OG Kyle Long at Oregon while Bears offensive coordinator Mark Helfrich worked in the same role for the Ducks.
- Patriots OL Cole Croston played on the Iowa offensive line with Bears C James Daniels from 2015-16.
- Patriots DB Eric Rowe played with Bears LB Kylie Fitts on Utah in 2014.
- Bears K Cody Parkey played for Auburn with Patriots LB Brandon King and DB Jonathan Jones.
- Patriots coaching assistant DeMarcus Covington played as a wide receiver at Samford with Bears DT Nick Williams.
- Patriots running backs coach Ivan Fears coached the receivers at Syracuse when Bears linebackers coach Glen Pires worked as a graduate assistant (1983-84) and defensive line coach (1989-90) for the Orange.
- Bears assistant defensive line coach Donovan Raiola played at Wisconsin when Patriots consultant to the head coach Bret Bielema worked as a defensive coordinator from 2004-05.
