A look at Patriots-Texans connections as we head into Thursday night's game.
NEW ENGLAND TIES
- Texans TE Ryan Griffinwent to Connecticut and is originally from Londonderry, N.H.
- 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 tight ends 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 wide receivers coach Sean Ryan coached at Boston College from 2001-02 and also worked at Harvard for the 2006 season.
TEXAS TIES
- Patriots WR Danny Amendola went to Texas Tech and is originally from The Woodlands, Texas.
- New England TE Martellus Bennett went to Texas A&M and is originally from Taylor, Texas.
- 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 and is originally from Port Arthur, Texas.
- Patriots DB Eric Rowe is originally from Klein, Texas.
- New England OL LaAdrian Waddle went to Texas Tech and is originally from Columbus, Texas.
- Patriots wide receivers coach Chad O'Shea was born in Houston, Texas.
FORMER PATRIOTS
- Texans NT Vince Wilfork spent 12 seasons with the Patriots. During his time in New England, Wilfork played in 158 games with 148 starts and amassed 517 tackles, 16.0 sacks, three interceptions for 48 yards, 35 quarterback hits, 28 tackles for loss, 12 fumble returns, four forced fumbles and 26 passes defensed.
- 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 defensive coordinator Romeo Crennel was the defensive coordinator for the Patriots from 2001-04 and coached New England's defensive line from 1993-96.
- Houston offensive coordinator George Godsey was an offensive assistant for the Patriots in 2011 and coached the New England tight ends from 2012-13.
- Texans linebackers coach Mike Vrabelplayed for the Patriots from 2001-08. He appeared in 125 games for New England and totaled 396 tackles during his time with the team.
FORMER NFL TEAMMATES
- Texans G Jeff Allenplayed for the Chiefs when Patriots tight ends coach Brian Dabollworked in Kansas City.
- Houston T Chris Clarkplayed 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 Josh McDaniels was the head coach of the Broncos.
- Texans S Quintin Demps played for the Eagles when Patriots WR Danny Amendola was in Philadelphia.
- Houston CB Jonathan Joseph and Patriots FB James Develin were teammates at the Cincinnati Bengals.
- Texans defensive coordinator Romeo Crennelcoached with New England head coach Bill Belichick at the New York Giants from 1981-90 and at the New York Jets from 1997-99 before caoching the Patriots as well.
- Crennel was the head coach of the Chiefs when Patriots tight ends coach Brian Daboll was the offensive coordinator in Kansas City during the 2012 season.
- Houston wide receivers coach Sean Ryan and special teams coach Larry Izzo coached in New York when Patriots TE Martellus Bennett was with the Giants.
- Houston offensive line coach Mike Devlin worked with Patriots tight ends coach Brian Dabollat the New York Jets from 2007-08.
- 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 played for the Browns.
FORMER COLLEGE TEAMMATES
- Houston RB Alfred Blueand Patriots DL Anthony Johnson were teammates at Louisiana State.
- Texans CB Kareem Jackson played at Alabama when Patriots special teams coach Joe Judge and LB Don't'a Hightower were with the Crimson Tide.
- Houston S Corey Moore played at Georgia with Patriots WR Malcolm Mitchell and C David Andrews.
- Texans S Eddie Pleasant played with Patriots RB LeGarrette Blount and S Patrick Chung at Oregon.
- Houston FB Jay Proschand Patriots DB Jonathan Jones were teammates at Auburn.
- Texans OLB John Simonand New England DB Nate Ebner played together at Ohio State.
- Houston WR Jalen Strong played with Patriots RB D.J. Foster at Arizona State.
- Texans DE J.J. Watt and Patriots RB James White were teammates at Wisconsin.
- Texans defensive assistant Shane Bowen worked at Georgia Tech when Patriots OL Shaq Mason played for the Yellow Jackets.
