Lions General Manager Bob Quinn was hired after spending a long stretch in the Patriots front office and the team returned to those roots to find a new strength and conditioning coach.
The Lions announced Friday that Harold Nash will fill that role. The Patriots let Nash go earlier this week as they made some changes to Bill Belichick’s coaching staff.
Nash spent five seasons as the head strength and conditioning coach with New England and was an assistant for six seasons before that, so he and Quinn, who was with the Patriots since 2000, have worked for the same organization for a long time.
In addition to Nash’s hiring, the Lions announced that Michael McCarthy will be a quality control and assistant offensive line coach for the team in 2016. He was an offensive quality control coach for the Browns last season and spent 2008 as an intern with the Jets while working at the collegiate level in the intervening years.