Ray & Eric

Special teams player Ray Ventrone is a great story of perseverance. The Pats signed him as an undrafted player in 2005. He spent the season on their practice squad while Eric Mangini was the defensive coordinator.

Mangini moved onto the head coaching job with the New York Jets. When the Pats released Ventrone in 2007, the Jets signed him. He stayed with them until his release in 2008. He began his second tenure with the Pats before departing in 2009 for a four year contract with the Cleveland Browns where Mangini moved to after being fired by the Jets.

Mangini got himself fired a second time and resurfaced on ESPN. The San Francisco 49er's just hired him as "Special Offensive Analyst". One of the first moves he made was to have the 49er's sign Ventrone. They are back together for a third time.

Through it all, Ventone has been able to play in 73 NFL games and stick around in the league since 2005. I wonder if he will end up with the Pats again