Sherrill native Matt Patricia has reached back to his days as a graduate assistant at Syracuse University to help create the coaching staff at the NFL’s Detroit Lions.
Patricia, a Vernon-Verona-Sherrill Central School graduate who was part of Syracuse’s coaching staff from 2001 to 2003, was named Detroit’s head coach on Monday.
On Wednesday, he named seven coaches to his staff. Three of them worked with him during his time at Syracuse University.
Former Syracuse head football coach Paul Pasqualoni is the Lions’ new defensive coordinator. He coached in Syracuse from 1991 to 2004. He has since coached with four NFL franchises.
Chris White will coach Lions tight ends. White was at Syracuse in several capacities from 2000 to 2008 and earned a master’s degree in education. He previously served in college programs and from 2009-2012, was assistant special teams coach with the Minnesota Vikings.
David Corrao was named director of football research for the Lions. He was a high school coach who took on an assistant coaching role at Syracuse from 2000 to 2003. Most recently, he was senior player personnel analyst at Mississippi.
Patricia, who was defensive coordinator for the New England Patriots, was named Detroit’s head coach just hours after the Patriots fell to the Philadelphia Eagles in Super Bowl 52. Patricia had been on New England’s coaching staff since 2004.
The new Detroit staff faces a historic challenge. The Lions have not won a playoff game in 26 years and have never played in a Super Bowl.
Contact McChesney at cmcchesney@cnybj.com
