When Matt Patricia became the defensive line coach at Amherst College in 1999, his players didn’t think they would be playing under a future NFL coach. Nearly two decades later, Patricia is going for a fourth Super Bowl ring.
The bearded coach with a backwards hat and a pencil stuck behind his ear, has been with the New England Patriots since 2004, the last six years as the team’s defensive coordinator.
Alex Zywotchenko, who was a senior offensive lineman in Patricia’s first season at Amherst, remembers him as being charismatic.
“He was very dedicated and very into the players,” Zywotchenko said. “He was a players’ coach, and he was really into knowing everyone.”
Zywotchenko remembers him for being highly intelligent. Patricia holds a bachelor’s degree in aeronautical engineering from RPI and a master’s degree in education from UMass. He was working toward his masters while he coached at Amherst.
Before shifting toward coaching Patricia worked as an application engineer for Hoffman Air & Filtration Systems, a company in East Syracuse, New York.
That experience and intelligence played into Patricia’s coaching style and helped him move up the ranks. Eugene Nogi played outside linebacker at Amherst during Patricia’s two years on South Pleasant Street, and one of the first things he remembers about Patricia was his use of technology.
“He was very good at film and (information technology) in general,” Nogi said. “He did film, tech, and so much more, he was never just the D-line coach. He was ahead of his time as far as the way he went about and saw the game and made use of technology. The way he was able to edit, review and cut up film was certainly advanced compared to the period.”
In 1999, his first season as defensive line coach, Amherst went 5-3. The following year, Amherst improved to 7-1 and was co-NESCAC champions. The team’s greatest achievement that season was not its record or title, but rather the last win of the season.
Rivals Amherst and Williams ended the season with “The Biggest Little Game in America.” That year Amherst won for the first time in 14 seasons, 20-12. Nogi still remembers the excitement on the field that day.
“That day the goal post came down in celebration,” he said.
Patricia is also remembered for the level of care he had for the players, even those like Nogi who played a position that Patricia did not coach.
“I have an award for a special teams hit I made and he was the first guy to congratulate me. We called it the Hammer Award and it was given out every week for the biggest hit made,” Nogi said. “They write your name on a sledge hammer for making the hit and I did it on special teams and he congratulated me before anyone else. That always stayed with me. He wasn’t hard-nosed, he was about the guys and enjoyed showing appreciation and celebrating.”
Ben Mathes, a wide receiver in 1999, has seen Patricia since graduating and was struck by how his former coach still acted the same as he did while at Amherst.
“He treated me and other players, from a Division III small school, the same as he treated players that were more visible,” Mathes said. “I was really struck by that a few years later, even if you played for him years ago, he treated you the same.”
Although it has been nearly two decades since Patricia was at Amherst, his former players still take pride in the fact that they played under him.
“We talk about it at Amherst still. Coach (E.J.) Mills and everyone else celebrates his success and all that he has accomplished,” Nogi said. “It’s not like we were constantly sending guys to the NFL, we were a small school. To see a guy working up there week in and week out is something me and the other guys talk about all the time and take pride in.”
It is still shocking for some to look at the TV on Sundays and see their former coach roaming the sideline in an NFL game.
“My father just asked me this past weekend if I ever thought he’d be an NFL head coach. I told him that something like that is tough to foresee.” Nogi said. “I knew he was sharp and committed, but to project out to the NFL coaching ranks is unseeable. He did it quickly which is a credit to him, and was something I couldn’t imagine when I saw him in his 20s.”
Following the Super Bowl, it is expected that the Detroit Lions will officially name Patricia as their next head coach. The Lions got themselves a leader, according to Nogi.
“He was always willing to congratulate guys and get fired up for them,” he said. “People were drawn to him and wanted to play for him.”
Mathes is proud of how far his former coach has gone, but his rooting interest Sunday ends with his former coach.
“There are so few roles in the NFL, so it’s challenging to get those positions,” Mathes said. “He was always very smart, very bright and very dedicated. I am from Philadelphia, so hopefully he will take it easy this weekend.”