Skip to main content
Advertising

Official website of the New England Patriots

replay
Replay: Best of the Week on Patriots.com Radio Thu Dec 05 - 11:00 AM | Mon Dec 09 - 08:45 AM

Connections: Patriots - Giants

A look at the connections between the New England Patriots and the New York Giants.

From left to right: Patriots S Devin McCourty, Giants LT Nate Solder (AP Photo) and Patriots Head Coach Bill Belichick.
From left to right: Patriots S Devin McCourty, Giants LT Nate Solder (AP Photo) and Patriots Head Coach Bill Belichick.

A look at the connections between the New England Patriots and the New York Giants.

NEW ENGLAND TIES

  • Giants president and CEO John Mara earned his undergraduate degree from Boston College and graduated in 1976 with a degree in marketing.
  • Giants senior vice president of player personnel Chris Mara went to Springfield College to play football before transferring to Boston College.
  • Giants senior vice president and general manager Dave Gettleman was born in Boston. He earned his bachelor's degree from Springfield College in 1972 and earned his master's degree from Southern Connecticut State in 1978.
  • Giants defensive coordinator James Bettcher was the linebackers and special teams coach at the University of New Hampshire in 2011.
  • Giants linebackers coach Bill McGovern played college football at Holy Cross and is in the school's Hall of Fame. He has local coaching stints at Holy Cross, UMass and at Boston College.
  • Giants assistant special teams coach Tom Quinn was defensive coordinator at Boston University in 1995 and Holy Cross from 1996-98.
  • Giants LS Zak DeOssie attended Phillips Academy in Andover, Mass. where he was an All-New England Prep Team and Eagle Tribune All-Star selection. He also played collegiately at Brown.
  • Giants TE Scott Simonson played at Assumption College in Worcester, Mass. from 2010-12.
  • Giants OT Brian Mihalik attended Boston College from 2011-14.

NEW YORK/NEW JERSEY TIES

  • Patriots DBs Jason and Devin McCourty are from Nyack, N.Y. and went on to play at Rutgers.
  • Patriots DB Duron Harmon also played at Rutgers, notching six interceptions and 129 total tackles from 2009-12.

FORMER PATRIOTS

  • Giants OL Nate Solder was drafted by the Patriots in the first round (17th overall) of the 2011 NFL Draft and played for the team from 2011-17, winning the Super Bowl twice.
  • Giants director of pro personnel Ken Sternfeld worked for the Patriots for 21 years from 1981 to 2002 in a variety of roles including the scouting department.
  • Giants OL Jon Halapio was drafted by the Patriots in the sixth round (179th overall) of the 2014 NFL Draft.

FORMER GIANTS

  • Patriots head coach Bill Belichick spent 11 years on the Giants coaching staff from 1979-90, holding a variety of positions including special teams coach, defensive coordinator and assistant head coach. Belichick was a part of the 1986 and 1990 Super Bowl-winning teams in New York.

FORMER NFL TEAMMATES

  • Giants offensive coordinator Mike Shula coached the tight ends for Chicago while Patriots running backs coach Ivan Fears was the receivers coach from 1993-95.
  • Giants defensive coordinator James Bettcher was special assistant to the head coach and the outside linebackers coach for Indianapolis in 2012, coaching DL Lawrence Guy.
  • Patriots DL Michael Bennett and Giants WR Golden Tate played together during two stints of their careers. Bennett and Tate teamed up in Seattle during the 2013 season, and once more in Philadelphia in 2018. Bennett also played alongside Giants DL John Jenkins in Seattle in 2016.
  • Giants RB Rod Smith played a brief stint in Seattle with DL Michael Bennett during the 2015 season.
  • Patriots OL James Ferentz, TE Matt LaCosse and WR Demaryius Thomas were in Denver with Giants P Riley Dixon and WR Cody Latimer for the 2016 season.
  • Giants S Jabrill Peppers (2017) and OL Kevin Zeitler (2017) played with Patriots DB Jason McCourty, WR Josh Gordon and DL Danny Shelton in Cleveland.
  • Giants OL Victor Salako was on the 2017 Cleveland Browns with Patriots DB Jason McCourty, WR Josh Gordon and DL Danny Shelton. Patriots LB Scooby Wright III began the 2017 season in Cleveland as well.
  • Giants OL Kevin Zeitler blocked for Patriots RB Rex Burkhead in Cincinnati from 2013-16.
  • Patriots TE Lance Kendricks and Giants LB Alec Ogletree played together on the Rams from 2013-16.
  • Giants CB Antonio Hamilton and P Johnny Townsend played alongside Patriots LB Shilique Calhoun and DB Obi Melifonwu in Oakland during the 2018 season.
  • New York QB Alex Tanney played with Patriots DB Jason McCourty (2015-16) on the Titans.
  • Patriots QB Brian Hoyer played with Giants QB Alex Tanney on Cleveland in 2013. Hoyer also played with Giants OLB Kareem Martin in Arizona during the 2016 season.
  • Patriots WR Cameron Meredith played with Giants DL John Jenkins in Chicago during the 2017 season. Meredith spent the majority of the season on injured reserve.

FORMER COLLEGE TEAMMATES

  • New York OL Malcolm Bunche and DL Olsen Pierre played with Patriots WR Phillip Dorsett at Miami (Fla.) from 2011-13. Giants DT RJ McIntosh also played at Miami with Patriots WR Braxton Berrios and DL Trent Harris from 2015-17.
  • Giants CB Henre' Toliver crossed paths with several members of the Patriots during his time at Arkansas, playing with OL Hjalte Froholdt (2015-17), OL Dan Skipper (2014-16) and DL Deatrich Wise Jr. (2014-16). Patriots defensive line coach Bret Bielema was head coach at Arkansas from 2013-17, while tight ends coach Nick Caley was a defensive graduate assistant in 2013.
  • Giants LB Lorenzo Carter (2014-17), LB Alec Ogletree (2011-13) and CB DeAndre Baker (2015-18) played at Georgia with three different Patriots, sharing the field with C David Andrews (2011-14), RB Sony Michel (2014-17) and OL Isaiah Wynn (2014-17).
  • Giants LB Avery Moss played Youngstown State with Patriots DE Derek Rivers from 2015-16.
  • Giants DL Dalvin Tomlinson played at Alabama with Patriots RB Damien Harris in 2015 and won the national title that year.
  • Several Patriots and Giants crossed paths at Auburn. Patriots QB Jarrett Stidham (2017-18) threw to Giants WR Darius Slayton (2015-18) and Patriots WR Ryan Davis (2015-18), while Giants G Chad Slade (2010-14) played opposite Patriots DB Jonathan Jones (2012-15).
  • Giants RB Rod Smith spent time at Ohio State with Patriots DE John Simon (2011-12) and DB Nate Ebner (2011).
  • Giants G Kevin Zeitler blocked for Patriots RB James White (2010-11) and TE Lance Kendricks (2008 -2010) at Wisconsin.
  • Patriots DL Adam Butler (2013-16) crossed paths with Giants C Spencer Pulley (2011-15) and S Kenny Ladler (2010-13) at Vanderbilt.
  • Patriots P Jake Bailey played with Giants LB Joey Alfieri for the past four seasons at Stanford. Giants S Michael Thomas also played at Stanford, where he played with Patriots DL David Parry in 2011.
  • Patriots OL Joe Thuney played with Giants DT B.J. Hill on N.C. State from 2014-15.
  • Patriots FB James Develin played with Giants LS Zak DeOssie at Brown in 2006.
  • Giants TE Evan Engram played at Mississippi while Patriots outside linebackers coach DeMarcus Covington was at Mississippi as a defensive graduate assistant from 2013-14.
  • Giants S Jabrill Peppers played on the Michigan defense with Patriots DL Chase Winovich from 2015-16.
  • Patriots DL Shilique Calhoun played with two Giants at Michigan State, WR Bennie Fowler and LS Taybor Pepper.
  • Giants TE Evan Engram played opposite Patriots DB Ken Webster at Mississippi from 2014-16.
  • Patriots LB Terez Hall and Giants OT Paul Adams played at Missouri together prior to their rookie campaigns starting in 2019.
Advertising

Latest News

Presented by
Advertising

Trending Videos

Advertising

In Case You Missed It

Presented by
Advertising