A look at the connections between the New England Patriots and the Detroit Lions.
NEW ENGLAND TIES
- Lions head coach Matt Patricia earned his master's degree from the University of Massachusetts. He also coached the defensive line at Amherst from 1999-2000.
- Lions executive vice president and general manager Bob Quinn is from Norwood, Mass. and earned both his undergraduate and master's degrees from UConn.
- Lions OL Jamil Demby played collegiately at the University of Maine from 2014-17.
- Lions defensive coordinator Paul Pasqualoni hails from Cheshire, Conn. and began his coaching career at Cheshire High School (1972-75). He also worked at Southern Connecticut State as an assistant coach and defensive coordinator from 1976-1981 and worked as the head coach at Western Connecticut State (1982-86) and Connecticut (2011-13). Before joining the Lions, Pasqualoni worked as the defensive line coach at Boston College from 2016-17.
- Lions special teams coordinator John Bonamego was an assistant coach at the University of Maine from 1988-91.
- Lions director of football research David Corrao worked as the tight ends coach at Northeastern in 2004.
- Lions linebackers coach Al Golden was the linebackers coach at Boston College from 1997-99.
- Lions offensive assistant and quality control coach Brian Picucci is from Leominster, Mass. and coached at Southern Connecticut State, UMass, Northeastern, Central Connecticut State, Becker College and Maine in a variety of roles before joining the Lions in 2018.
- Lions quarterbacks coach Sean Ryan coached as a graduate assistant and wide receivers coach for Boston College from 2001-02 and running backs coach/ recruiting director for Harvard in 2006. Ryan also worked as a wide receivers/ quarterbacks coach for the Houston Texans from 2016-2018, where he worked with former Patriots offensive assistant/ coordinator Bill O'Brien (2007-2011) and defensive coordinator Romeo Crennel (2001- 04).
- Lions tight ends coach Chris White is from Groveland, Mass., played quarterback at Colby College in Maine, was quarterbacks coach at Holy Cross in 1993 and director of football research and special projects at Connecticut in 2017.
MICHIGAN TIES
- Patriots QB Tom Brady played for the University of Michigan from 1996-99. He threw for 4,773 yards and 30 touchdowns and was part of the 1997 Rose Bowl team.
- Patriots QB Brian Hoyer played for Michigan State from 2005- 08, notching 35 touchdowns and 6,159 yards.
- Patriots DL Chase Winovich played for the University of Michigan from 2015-2018. He recorded 166 tackles and 18.5 sacks as a Wolverine.
- Patriots LB Shilique Calhoun played for Michigan State from 2012-15. He recorded 131 tackles and 27.0 sacks.
FORMER PATRIOTS
- Lions head coach Matt Patricia coached for 14 seasons in New England. He started in 2004 as a coaching assistant before moving to assistant offensive line coach in 2005. He then coached the linebackers from 2006-10 before becoming safeties coach in 2011. He ended his tenure in New England as the defensive coordinator from 2012-17.
- Lions executive vice president and general manager Bob Quinn spent 16 years (2000-2015) with the Patriots scouting department, most recently working as Director of Pro Scouting from 2012-15 before joining the Lions.
- Lions defensive line coach Bo Davis coached the defensive line at Alabama from 2008-10 while Patriots LB Dont'a Hightower played for the Crimson Tide. The duo won the 2009 National Title.
- Lions WR Danny Amendola played for the Patriots from 2013-17, winning a pair of Super Bowls. During his time in New England, Amendola caught 230 passes for 2,383 yards and 12 touchdowns in 69 regular-season games.
- Lions DB Justin Coleman played for New England from 2015-16. Coleman started 3 games in two seasons, recording 29 tackles and one fumble recovery.
- Lions DE Trey Flowers was drafted by the Patriots in the fourth round of the 2015 NFL Draft (101st Overall). Flowers spent the 2015-18 seasons as a Patriot, recording a total of 164 tackles, 21.0 sacks, and five forced fumbles.
- Lions DT Darius Kilgo played for the Patriots for nine games in 2016, recording five total tackles.
- The Patriots drafted Lions S Tavon Wilson in the second round (48th overall) of the 2012 NFL Draft. Wilson played in New England from 2012-15, recording five interceptions, 11 passes defensed and 79 total tackles.
- Lions offensive line coach Jeff Davidson worked for the Patriots from 1997-2004 as a tight ends and offensive line coach.
- Lions defensive assistant Steve Gregory played defensive back for the Patriots from 2012-13.
- Lions head strength and conditioning coach Harold Nash Jr. worked as assistant strength and conditioning coach (2005-10) and head strength and conditioning coach (2011-15) for the Patriots.
- Lions WCF minority coaching assistantship/defense coach Billy Yates played offensive line for the Patriots from 2004-08.
- Lions WCF minority coaching assistantship/offense and special teams coach Leon Washington played running back for the Patriots during the 2013 season.
FORMER LIONS
- Patriots LB Kyle Van Noy played for the Lions from 2014-16 before being traded to the Patriots. Van Noy totaled 30 tackles in his time on Detroit.
