A look at the connections between the New England Patriots and the Oakland Raiders.
NEW ENGLAND TIES
- Raiders S Obi Melifonwu hails from Grafton, Mass., and attended Grafton High School, where he played running back and defensive back. As a senior, he was named to the ESPN Boston All-State team. He went on to start 47 of 48 games played at Connecticut and tallied 351 career tackles, ranking eighth in school history for the Huskies.
- Raiders defensive assistant Sam Annowas the linebackers and special teams coach at Central Connecticut State in 2008.
- Raiders assistant offensive line coach Tim Holt is a native of Dighton, Mass., and played offensive line at Southern Connecticut State. He also had two different stints on the coaching staff at his alma mater and coached at Stonehill College in Easton, Mass.
BAY AREA TIES
- Patriots QB Tom Brady attended Junipero Serra HS in San Mateo, Calif., located 45 minutes from Oakland across the San Francisco Bay. He was the starting varsity quarterback for two seasons (1993-94) and completed 236 of 447 passes for 3,702 yards and 31 touchdowns, earning All-State and All-Far West honors. Brady was inducted into the school's Hall of Fame in 2003.
- Patriots WR Brandin Cooks was raised in Stockton, Calif., where he attended Lincoln High School and was a two-time Section Offensive Player of the Year, All-Area selection and team Most Valuable Player.
- Patriots DB Jordan Richards was raised in Folsom, Calif., and went on to play at Stanford University from 2011-14. He made 44 starts in 54 games played for the Cardinal and was a two-time All-Pac 12 first team selection.
- Patriots CB Johnson Bademosi and OL Cameron Fleming also played at Stanford from 2008-11 and 2010-13, respectively. Bademosi was a threeyear starter for the Cardinal and also competed on the track and field team. Fleming, who started all 39 games in which he appeared, majored in aeronautics and astronautics while a student at Stanford.
FORMER PATRIOTS
- Raiders special teams coordinator Brad Seelycoached the special teams for the Patriots from 1999-2008 and helped New England to three Super Bowl championships in that time – two of which were clinched by field goals in the closing seconds of the game. During his tenure, Seely's special teams units ranked first in kickoff return average (23.5), fourth in field goal percentage (83.4) and eighth in punt return average (9.9). Additionally, the Patriots registered eight touchdowns on kickoff returns under Seely's tutelage, which was second among all teams in that period.
FORMER NFL TEAMMATES
- Patriots DL Ricky Jean Francois was teammates at San Francisco with Raiders LBNaVarro Bowman from 2010-12 and WR Michael Crabtree from 2009-12. Raiders special teams coordinator Brad Seely was the assistant head coach/special teams coordinator at San Francisco when Jean Francois played for the 49ers.
- Brad Seely coached with Patriots offensive line coach Dante Scarnecchia at the Colts from 1989-90 and at Southern Methodist University in 1981.
- Raiders RB Marshawn Lynch and LBBruce Irvin each played with Patriots DL Alan Branch and LB Cassius Marsh at Seattle. Both played with Marsh from 2014-15. Lynch was teammates with Branch from 2011-12, while Irvin played with Branch in 2012 only. Raiders defensive coordinator Ken Norton, Jr. also worked with Marsh and Branch when he was the linebackers coach at Seattle from 2011-14.
- Raiders QB EJ Manuel was teammates with Patriots WR Chris Hogan, RB Mike Gillislee, CB Stephon Gilmore and DL Alan Branch during his time at Buffalo from 2013-16. Raiders TE Lee Smith also played with Hogan, Gilmore and Branch when he was with the Bills from 2011-14.
- Patriots DL Ricky Jean Francois also played with Raiders CB David Amerson for the Redskins in 2015.
- Patriots WR Brandin Cooks was teammates with Raiders S Erik Harris at New Orleans in 2016.
- Raiders SReggie Nelson played for the Bengals with three Patriots: FB James Develin from 2010-11, RB Rex Burkhead from 2013-15 and LB Marquis Flowers from 2014-15. Raiders T Marshall Newhouse was also teammates with Burkhead and Flowers in 2014.
- Patriots DL Lawrence Guy and Raiders G/T Kelechi Osemele played together at Baltimore from 2014-15.
- Raiders T Donald Penn played at Minnesota in 2006 when Patriots defensive line coach Brendan Daly and wide receivers coach Chad O'Sheawere assistant coaches for the Vikings. Raiders WR Cordarrelle Pattersonwas a rookie for the Vikings in 2013 during Daly's second stint as an assistant coach there.
- Raiders wide receivers coachRob Moore and offensive coordinator Todd Downing coached the receivers and the quarterbacks, respectively, at Buffalo in 2014 when Patriots WR Chris Hogan, RB Mike Gillislee and CB Stephon Gilmore played for the Bills.
- Raiders assistant head coach – defense John Pagano and defensive assistant Sam Anno coached Patriots DL Lawrence Guy when he played for the Chargers in 2013-14.
- Raiders tight ends coach Bobby Johnsonwas on the Lions coaching staff in 2013-14 when Patriots OL LaAdrian Waddle and LB Kyle Van Noy played at Detroit. Todd Downing also worked with Patriots OL LaAdrian Waddle at Detroit in 2013.
FORMER COLLEGE TEAMMATES
- Patriots WR Danny Amendola and Raiders WR Michael Crabtree were teammates together at Texas Tech in 2007. The wide receiver due led the Red Raiders that year in both receptions and receiving yards, as Crabtree tallied 1,962 yards and 22 touchdowns on 134 catches and Amendola recorded 1,245 yards and six touchdowns on 109 receptions.
- Patriots CB Malcolm Butler and Raiders WR Seth Roberts played together at West Alabama from 2012-13 and both entered the NFL as undrafted free agents in 2014. They are two of the four West Alabama players currently on active NFL rosters, with Chiefs WR Tyreek Hill and Bills LBDeon Lacey rounding out the group for the Tigers.
- Patriots OL Joe Thuney was teammates with Raiders CBDavid Amersonat North Carolina State in 2012.
- Patriots OL Marcus Cannon and Raiders T Marshall Newhouseanchored the offensive line together at TCU in 2008-09.
- Patriots WR Phillip Dorsett played with Raiders TE Clive Walford and G/CJon Feliciano at Miami from 2011-14. Raiders defensive line coach Jethro Franklin was also on the coaching staff for the Hurricanes during that time.
- When Raiders QB Derek Carr was a freshman at Fresno State, Patriots head strength and conditioning coach Moses Cabrera was an assistant strength coach for the Bulldogs.
- Patriots P Ryan Allen and Raiders DT Justin Ellis played together at Louisiana Tech from 2010-12.
- Patriots DB Eric Rowe and LB Trevor Reilly played with Raiders DBKeith McGill II at Utah from 2012-13.
- Patriots OL Ted Karras played with Raiders DL Jihad Ward at Illinois from 2014-15.
- Patriots LB Cassius Marsh was a senior for the Bruins when Raiders DT Eddie Vanderdoes was a freshman at UCLA in 2013.
- Patriots OL LaAdrian Waddle and Raiders RB DeAndré Washingtonplayed together at Texas Tech from 2011-12.
- Patriots tight ends coach Nick Caley was a defensive graduate assistant at Iowa State when Raiders G/T Kelechi Osemele played for the Cyclones from 2009-11.
- When Patriots DB Jordan Richards, CB Johnson Bademosi and OL Cameron Fleming played at Stanford, Raiders assistant wide receivers coach Nick Holtzwas an offensive assistant on the staff.
- Patriots special teams coach Joe Judgeand Raiders linebackers coach Sal Sunseriwere on the coaching staff at Alabama from 2009-11, during which time the Crimson Tide won two national championships.
