ALLEN PARK – Duron Harmon is one of several former New England Patriots players to join Lions coach Matt Patricia in Detroit. Veteran safety was not limited to familiar faces and arrangements when he was traded to the Lions. He was also reunited with someone he described as the first NFL player to take him under their wing.
Harmon said the man was Steve Gregory, who promoted the Lions to defensive back coaching in March. Gregory had served as a defensive assistant for the previous two seasons in Detroit.
73 like the one who really took me under his wing when I was first there as a young puppy. ”
“Steve has always been, if not the smartest player, one of the smartest players in the room,” Harmon said during a Zoom interview with reporters on Tuesday. ‘He was a coach for me then. I think this was his eighth year in the league. He played in two different systems. He was in San Diego, and then he came to apparently New England, and just his knowledge for the game, it was always in the backpack between him and Dev (Patriots safety Devin McCourty), and (I) just tried to learn as as much as I could.
‘Of course, you know, he is, you know, the secondary coach and I have the utmost respect for him and his ability to make us ready and willing. Just talking to him every day, I always ask him questions, and he always finds the answer for me and just makes sure that I can feel comfortable and that the whole secondary feels comfortable with him. “
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The organization is high on Gregory, and this represents more positive praise from someone who has spent some time next to him in the locks. He is one of a handful of new coaches for Lions assistants who come not only with Patriots connections, but player experience under Patricia.
This list includes Tyrone McKenzie (coach for linebackers), Tony Carter (defense assistant), Ty Warren (minority coaching internship) and Gregory. It’s also worth noting that Bill Belichick hired new defense coordinator Cory Undlin in 2004 as a defensive assistant, which was the same year that Patricia started there as an offensive assistant.
After Gregory’s playing career ended, he returned to Syracuse as a special teams quality control coach until Patricia arrived. He was one of seven Lions employees with ties to Syracuse when he was first hired.
“Steve is a young man who played for me,” said Gregory’s Patricia back at the Senior Bowl. “Smart man who just developed and grew right in his very young coaching career. We’ll see how that goes, but I think he’s done a good job here over the last few years in his own personal growth as a football coach. ”
Harmon and Gregory will look to play their part in turning one of the worst defensive works in the NFL this season. The Lions allowed the most passing yards in the league, while generating the second-least number of sacks in 2019. For those who still have nightmares as of 2008, last year’s team came within 64 yards of matching that level of defensive futility. Just to put it all in perspective.
The pair are more than familiar with the scheme, but look forward to meshing with a ton of new pieces without a press season or typical training camp. Harmon joins Desmond Trufant, Jeff Okudah, Darryl Roberts and Jayron Kearse as new additions to the sequel.
Harmon said the system is similar, no doubt, but that the game continues to evolve. Now, he says his focus is on getting on the field and “actually playing football.”
“When you know, years go by and you evolve because the game is always evolving, so you have to do different things to stop what the crimes are doing,” Harmon said of Patricia’s system. “That there are some new things that I will have to learn, and I work as hard as I can to learn those things and make sure that when I go out there, people can count on me to know that I he will always know what I do and I do my job at a high level.But like you said, there are new things, there are old things, but at the end of the day we already have eight not playing football for months. My last game was in January, so seven months. Just getting out, actually playing football, will be a challenge for all of us.
‘We did not have the time we normally have on the field, so it will be a challenge for all of us to go out, communicate and play. Sitting there on the Zoom and saying, ‘This is what I would do’ is completely different than being on the field and doing it at a high level. That it will be a challenge for all of us, but like I said, there are some great men in this room, we have great leaders, we have great coaches, we just have a great general (culture) in the organization of the Lions. I’m just excited to get on the field soon and work to win football games. ”
The Lions have set their first padded practice for August 17th. If all goes according to plan, Detroit will open the season against the Chicago Bears on Sept. 13. At Ford Field.
Related: Detroit Lions, fresh off 3-win season, crowned NFC North favorite by Football Outsiders
