A look at the connections between the New England Patriots and the Houston Texans.
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 T Breno Giacomini hails from Malden, Mass., and attended Malden High School.
- Texans RB Jordan Todman was born in New Bedford, Mass., and attended Dartmouth High School. He went on to play at Connecticut and was unanimously selected as the 2010 Big East Conference's Offensive Player of the Year in his final season as a Husky.
TEXAS TIES
- 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 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 is originally from Port Arthur, Texas.
- Patriots DB Eric Rowe is originally from Klein, Texas, and attended Klein High School.
- 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. He played at the University of Houston from 1994-95 and coached there from 1996- 99.
- 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 Vrabel played 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 Welker had 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.
- Texans running backs coach Charles London was a coaching intern with the Patriots during the summer of 2005 as a part of the NFL's Minority Internship Program.
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
- Texans assistant head coach/defense Romeo Crennel coached with New England head coach Bill Belichick at the New York Giants from 1981-90 and at the New York Jets from 1997-99.
- Patriots RB Mike Gillislee and Texans RB Lamar Miller were teammates at Miami from 2013-14.
- Houston T Chris Clark played for the Vikings when New England defensive line coach Brendan 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.
- Patriots TE Dwayne Allen and WR Phillip Dorsett played with Texans RB Jordan Todman at Indianapolis in 2016.
- Houston CB Johnathan Joseph and Patriots FB James Develin were teammates at the Cincinnati Bengals.
- 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 and CB Johnson Bademosi played for the Browns.
- Patriots DE Cassius Marsh played with Texans CB Marcus Burley at Seattle in 2014-15.
- Patriots LB Shea McClellin and Texans DE Brandon Dunn were teammates with the Bears from 2014-15.
- Patriots LB David Harris was teammates with Texans T Breno Giacomini at the Jets from 2014-16 and Texans S Marcus Gilchrist from 2015-16.
- Gilchrist was also teammates with Patriots DL Lawrence Guy at San Diego in 2013 and 2014.
FORMER COLLEGE TEAMMATES
- Patriots RB James White played one season (2010) with Texans DE J.J. Watt at Wisconsin.
- Texans CB Kareem Jackson and Patriots LB Dont'a Hightower were teammates on Alabama's 2009 National Championship team, and Patriots special teams coach Joe Judge was also a member of the Crimson Tide's support staff.
- Patriots CB Stephon Gilmore was college teammates with Texans DE Jadeveon Clowney and WR Bruce Ellington at South Carolina for one season in 2011. Texans secondary coach John Butler and Texans head strength and conditioning coach Craig Fitzgerald were also on staff with the Gamecocks at that time.
- Patriots TE Dwayne Allen and Texans WR DeAndre Hopkins played together at Clemson University from 2010-11. In 2011, Hopkins and Allen finished in the topthree on the team in receptions, receiving yards and receiving touchdowns. Allen was also teammates with Texans S Marcus Gilchrist from 2008-10 at Clemson.
- Texans QB Tom Savage played with Patriots DB Devin McCourty and DB Duron Harmon at Rutgers in 2009.
- Patriots WR Phillip Dorsett played with Texans RB Lamar Millar at Miami in 2011 and DE Ufomba Kamalu from 2013-14.
- Houston S Corey Moore played at Georgia with Patriots C David Andrews from 2011-14.
- Texans S Eddie Pleasant played with Patriots S Patrick Chung at Oregon.
- Texans defensive assistant Shane Bowen worked at Georgia Tech when Patriots OL Shaq Mason played for the Yellow Jackets.
- Patriots DB Nate Ebner played 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 Jonathan Jones and DB Brandon King played with Texans FB Jay Prosch at Auburn.
- Patriots G Ted Karras shared the field with multiple Texans during his time at Illinois, including G Jeff Allen, OLB Whitney Mercilus and FB Jay Prosch.
- Patriots DL Malcom Brown was teammates with Texans RB D'Onta Foreman at Texas in 2014.
- Texans defensive line coach Anthony Weaver coached Patriots RB Mike Gillislee at Florida in 2010.
- Patriots defensive line coach Brendan Daily worked alongside Texans head strength and conditioning coach Craig Fitzgerald at Maryland in 2000.
- Patriots DE Cassius Marsh played with Texans G Xavier Su'a-Filo and K Ka'imi Fairbairn at UCLA from 2012-13.
