Patriots Name Ray Ventrone Assistant Special Teams Coach
BOSTON (CBS) -- There is finally a Ventrone back on the New England Patriots.
The Patriots announced Tuesday that former special teamer Ray Ventrone has been named to Bill Belichick's staff as an assistant special teams coach. Ventrone spent four years with New England after originally joining the team as a rookie free agent out of Villanova in 2005.
Ventrone is a veteran of nine NFL seasons as a player, playing with New England (2006-2008), the New York Jets (2007), Cleveland Browns (2009-2012) and the San Francisco 49ers (2013-2014). He registered 57 total tackles during his career, which was primarily spent as a special teams player.
Ventrone spent the 2005 season on the Patriots' practice squad and the 2006 season on injured reserve, and then split the 2007 season between the Jets and the Patriots practice squads. He was signed to the New England 53-man roster in November, and hit the field for two regular-season games and Super Bowl XLII. He played the entire 2008 season with the Patriots before playing four years in Cleveland and the last two seasons of his career in San Francisco.
Ray is the older brother of Ross Ventrone, who was signed, promoted, or released by the Patriots over 20 times during the 2011 season. Ray will likely have much more job security as a member of the coaching staff.