Patricia and Paul

Coaches in the NFL have many interconnected relationships with one another and those coaching on the college level. Many jobs are given to former cronies because they are comfortable working with them.

When Matt Patricia was named coach of the Lions, he immediately selected defensive line coach Paul Pasqualoni of Boston College to be his defensive coordinator.

They go way back to 2001 when Pasqualoni gave Patricia his first college coaching job as a graduate assistant at Syracuse. He never forgot his former boss who has 14 stops along the way between college and the NFL.

When they first met, neither of them probably envisioned this day.