Another former Patriots player has started a coaching career: Ryan Wendell joins the Bills

Heading into its 19th season, the New England Patriots’ dynasty is still going strong. The sheer size of the club’s unprecedented run of success and stability has not only brought six Super Bowl titles to Foxboro, it also produced numerous offspring organizations around the NFL: the Houston Texans, Detroit Lions and Miami Dolphins are all head coached by former Patriots assistants, while multiple other teams employ previous members of the club.

Among them are the Buffalo Bills, who hired former New England wide receivers and tight ends coach Brian Daboll as their offensive coordinator in 2018. One area in which Daboll’s fingerprints can be seen is the hiring of his own assistants: according to ESPN Boston’s Mike Reiss, the Bills have added former Patriots offensive lineman Ryan Wendell to their coaching staff as an offensive assistant under Daboll.

Wendell spent the first eight seasons of his nine-year career in New England, and appeared in 91 games for the club between 2008 and 2015. A versatile interior blocker, the Fresno State product became the team’s starting center in 2012 after Dan Koppen’s departure. Two years later, he moved to right guard — a role in which Wendell helped the Patriots win Super Bowl 49 against the Seattle Seahawks.

After leaving New England, Wendell appeared in one game for the Carolina Panthers in 2016. Now, he has made his return albeit in a different role: the 33-year-old now becomes the latest member of the Patriots dynasty to head into coaching, joining former teammates Wes Welker (San Francisco 49ers’ wide receivers coach) and Tiquan Underwood (Miami Dolphins offensive quality control coach).