A look at the connections between the New England Patriots and the Miami Dolphins.
NEW ENGLAND TIES
- Dolphins LB Kiko Alonso was born in Newton, Mass.
- Miami associate head coach/special teams coordinator Darren Rizzi played at the University of Rhode Island from 1988-91 and later returned to the school to coach, in addition to coaching stints at New Haven and Northeastern.
- Dolphins general manager Chris Grier is a native of Holliston, Mass., and attended the University of Massachusetts-Amherst, where he played football for two seasons.
- Head strength and conditioning coach Dave Puloka played for Holy Cross from 1997-2000.
- Dolphins defensive coordinator Matt Burke coached at both Boston College (2000-02) and Harvard (2003) before moving to the NFL ranks. Burke is from Hudson, Mass. and got his coaching start at Bridgton Academy in Maine as the secondary coach.
- Miami tight ends coach Shane Day coached the quarterbacks at Connecticut from 2012-13.
- Dolphins assistant wide receivers coach Ben Johnson worked at Boston College from 2009-11.
- Miami defensive quality control coach Rusty McKinney coached at Bentley College in Waltham, Mass. for five seasons (2009-13) and also spent 2009 at St. Anselm College in Manchester, N.H.
- Dolphins executive vice president of football operations Mike Tannenbaum is from Needham, Mass. and attended the University of Massachusetts-Amherst.
- Miami assistant strength and conditioning coach Jim Arthur is from Cheshire, Conn. and was a coaching intern at Boston College in 2002. He also attended Springfield College and was a graduate assistant there from 2000-2001.
- Miami defensive backs coach Tony Oden worked as a graduate assistant at Boston College in 1997.
SOUTH FLORIDA TIES
- Patriots WR Phillip Dorsett and Patriots RB James White are from Ft. Lauderdale, Fla., and were teammates together at St. Thomas Aquinas High School. Dorsett went on to attend the University of Miami from 2011-14, where he ended his career ranked eighth in school history in receptions (121), receiving yards (2,132) and touchdowns (17).
- Patriots RB Sony Michel is from Plantation, Fla. and was the USA Today Florida Football Player of the Year in 2013 after rushing for 1,833 yards and 24 touchdowns.
- Patriots DB J.C. Jackson hails from Immokalee, Fla. and totaled 3,109 yards and 31 touchdowns during his career at Immokalee High School.
- In 2014, Patriots tight ends coach Nick Caley was the secondary coach at Florida Atlantic University, located in Boca Raton, Fla.
FORMER PATRIOTS
- Dolphins WR Danny Amendola signed with the Patriots as a free agent in 2013 and played in New England through 2017. He was part of two Super Bowl Championships and totaled 230 receptions for 2,383 yards and 12 touchdowns in his time in New England.
- Dolphins RB Brandon Bolden signed with the Patriots as a rookie free agent in 2012 and played in New England through 2017, rushing for 912 yards and six touchdowns. He also had 47 receptions for 373 yards and two scores and played a key role in special teams.
- Miami TE A.J. Derby was originally selected by the New England Patriots in the sixth round (202nd overall) of the 2015 NFL Draft. He spent his rookie season on the Patriots Injured/Reserve list before appearing in four games for New England in the beginning of 2016.
- Dolphins C/G Ted Larsen was drafted by the Patriots in the seventh round (205th overall) of the 2010 NFL Draft and released prior to the start of the regular season.
- Dolphins general manager Chris Grier began his NFL career as an intern for the Patriots in 1994. The following year, he became a regional scout for the team and served in that capacity until joining the Dolphins in 2000. His father, Bobby Grier, was the vice president of player personnel for the Patriots from 1995-1999.
- Miami assistant head coach/offense Shawn Jefferson played for the Patriots from 1996-99 and started 61-of-63 games played at New England.
- Miami assistant defensive line coach Andre Carter played for the Patriots in 2011 and 2013.
FORMER NFL TEAMMATES
- Dolphins executive vice president of football operations Mike Tannenbaum worked for the Jets as director of player contracts when Patriots head coach Bill Belichick was assistant head coach/secondary for New York.
- Dolphins head coach Adam Gase was hired by Patriots offensive coordinator/quarterbacks Josh McDaniels in 2009 when McDaniels took over head coaching duties in Denver. Gase coached the Broncos wide receivers from 2009-10 under McDaniels' tutelage. McDaniels also coached Dolphins assistant defensive backs coach Renaldo Hill and offensive line coach Chris Kuper when they played for the Broncos from 2009-10. Finally, Dolphins run game coordinator/running backs coach Eric Studesville coached the running backs for Denver in 2010.
- Patriots DB Eric Rowe was teammates with Dolphins LB Kiko Alonso at Philadelphia in 2015.
- Patriots CB Stephon Gilmore, WR Chris Hogan and Dolphins LB Kiko Alonso played together at Buffalo in 2013. Gilmore and Hogan also played with Dolphins TE MarQueis Gray and T Sam Young at Buffalo.
- Patriots running backs coach Ivan Fears coached the wide receivers at Chicago while Dolphins run game coordinator/running backs coach Eric Studesville was the offensive quality control coach for the Bears from 1997-98.
- Patriots QB Brian Hoyer shared the Bears quarterback room with Dolphins QB David Fales in 2016. Dolphins C/G Ted Larsen also played with Hoyer at Chicago that year and Dolphins offensive coordinator Dowell Loggains worked as offensive coordinator for the Bears.
- Miami offensive coordinator Dowell Loggains coached the quarterbacks in Cleveland in 2014 when Patriots QB Brian Hoyer and WR Josh Gordon played for the Browns. Dolphins defensive quality control coach Rusty McKinney was a coaching intern in Cleveland at the time and also coached DL Danny Shelton.
- Patriots QB Brian Hoyer and WR Josh Gordon were teammates with Dolphins TE MarQueis Gray at Cleveland in 2013.
- Dolphins C/G Ted Larsen played with Patriots DE Adrian Clayborn for Tampa Bay from 2011-13. Miami DT Akeem Spence also played with Clayborn from 2013-14.
- Patriots LB Nicholas Grigsby played with Dolphins S T.J. McDonald, DE Robert Quinn and DE William Hayes for the Los Angeles Rams in 2016. Dolphins assistant coach/linebackers coach Frank Bush coached Grigsby and the linebackers for the Rams that same season.
- Dolphins WR Danny Amendola and DE Robert Quinn played for the Rams while Patriots offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels was the offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach in 2011. Additionally, Patriots defensive line coach Brendan Daly worked in the same role for the Rams from 2009-11.
- Miami RB Frank Gore played for Indianapolis with Patriots TE Dwayne Allen and WR Phillip Dorsett from 2015-16.
- Patriots DB Jason McCourty played for the Tennessee defense with Dolphins DE William Hayes from 2009-11.
- Miami C Daniel Kilgore played for San Francisco with Patriots OL Trent Brown (2015-17) and QB Brian Hoyer (2017).
- Patriots director of pro personnel Dave Ziegler was in Denver's scouting department in 2012 when the Broncos selected Dolphins QB Brock Osweiler.
- Patriots LB Kyle Van Noy and OL LaAdrian Waddle played with Dolphins C Travis Swanson on Detroit.
- Patriots DB Jason McCourty played for Tennessee while Dolphins assistant coach/linebackers coach Frank Bush coached the linebackers from 2011-12.
- Miami assistant head coach/offense Shawn Jefferson coached the wide receivers and offensive coordinator Dowell Loggains was the offensive coordinator for Tennessee while Patriots OL Brian Schwenke and DB Jason McCourty played for the Titans.
- Dolphins assistant special teams coach Marwan Maalouf was the special teams coordinator in Indianapolis in 2012 when Patriots TE Dwayne Allen and DL Lawrence Guy played for the Colts.
- Patriots director of college scouting Monti Ossenfort worked in the scouting department in Houston while Dolphins defensive backs coach Tony Oden was a defensive assistant and assistant defensive backs coach for the Texans.
- Dolphins defensive backs coach Tony Oden coached the secondary and cornerbacks for Tampa Bay in 2013 while Patriots DE Adrian Clayborn played for the Buccaneers.
- Oden also coached the defensive backs and cornerbacks in Detroit with Patriots OL LaAdrian Waddle and LB Kyle Van Noy. Dolphins offensive line coach Jeremiah Washburn also coached in Detroit as an assistant offensive line coach.
FORMER COLLEGE TEAMMATES
- Patriots RB James White teamed up with Dolphins WR Tanner McEvoy at Wisconsin in 2013.
- Patriots TE Dwayne Allen played with Dolphins DE Andre Branch and LB Stephone Anthony at Clemson.
- Patriots DB Duron Harmon played with Dolphins WR Leonte Carroo at Rutgers in 2012.
- Patriots OL LaAdrian Waddle and Dolphins WR Jakeem Grant were teammates together at Texas Tech in 2012.
- Patriots RB Rex Burkhead played with Dolphins T Zach Sterup at Nebraska in 2012.
- Dolphins LB Kiko Alonso played with Patriots S Patrick Chung (2008) at Oregon.
- Patriots RB Sony Michel played at Georgia with Dolphins S Maurice Smith in 2016.
- Dolphins associate head coach/special teams coordinator Darren Rizzi coached in a variety of roles at Rutgers when Patriots DBs Devin and Jason McCourty played for the Scarlet Knights.
- Miami TE A.J. Derby and C Travis Swanson played for Arkansas with Patriots DL Trey Flowers and DL Deatrich Wise Jr. Derby and Swanson also played under Patriots consultant to the head coach Bret Bielema while Bielema was head coach of the Razorbacks.
- Patriots WR Cordarrelle Patterson played with Dolphins OT Ja'Wuan James at Tennessee in 2012.
- Patriots CB Cyrus Jones played at Alabama and won the 2015 national title with Dolphins S Maurice Smith, S Minkah Fitzpatrick and RB Kenyan Drake.
- Dolphins WR Tanner McEvoy redshirted at South Carolina in 2011 when Patriots CB Stephon Gilmore played for the Gamecocks. McEvoy's brother, Colin, played at Rutgers with Patriots DBs Devin McCourty, Jason McCourty and Duron Harmon.
- Patriots DL Lawrence Guy played with Dolphins QB Brock Osweiler at Arizona State from 2009-10.
- Patriots DL Geneo Grissom played with Dolphins DT Jordan Phillips (2011-14) and WR Kenny Stills (2011-12) on Oklahoma.
- Patriots OL Ted Karras played with Dolphins DT Akeem Spence for Illinois in 2012.
- Patriots coaching assistant DeMarcus Covington was at Mississippi as a defensive graduate assistant with Dolphins OT Laremy Tunsil from 2013-14.
- Patriots DE Adrian Clayborn played for Iowa while Dolphins assistant linebackers coach Charlie Bullen worked as a student assistant and graduate assistant for the Hawkeyes from 2007-10.
- Patriots LB Nicholas Grisgby played for Pittsburgh when Dolphins assistant defensive backs coach Renaldo Hill coached the secondary in 2015.
