The Detroit Lions need a defensive coordinator, and Matt Patricia's staff may look to his former team to fill that opening.
New England Patriots defensive line coach Bret Bielema will speak to the Lions about the defensive coordinator job vacated by Paul Pasqualoni, CBS Sports' Jason La Canfora reported Monday.
Bielema has spent the previous two seasons with the Patriots, serving as their defensive line coach in 2019 after being a "consultant to the head coach" in 2018.
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Patricia took the Lions' head coach job in 2018 and never worked directly with Bielema, but it's not surprising he and general manager Bob Quinn are targeting a Patriots assistant after both spent several years with New England.
Bielema may not be the only Patriots assistant Detroit pursues, either: New England linebackers coach Jerod Mayo is very close with Patricia, who said last August he considers Mayo "like a son" to him.
Bielema joins offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels and special teams coordinator/wide receivers coach Joe Judge among several Patriots assistants who could land with new teams this offseason.