Mobile, Ala. — When the Detroit Lions hired Brayden Coombs to run their special teams units, it appeared coach Matt Patricia had gone outside the box to hire a young, up-and-coming assistant from beyond his traditional sphere of contacts.
But as things often due in Patricia's world, roads tend to lead back to New England.
Coombs, a former Miami (Ohio) University receiver had spent his entire coaching career with the Cincinnati Bengals, assisting with the team's special teams the past eight years under coordinator Darrin Simmons.