Just a few days after saying that he wasn’t in a rush to hire a strength and conditioning coach, general manager Bob Quinn is bringing another former Patriots co-worker to Detroit.
According to ESPN’s Adam Schefter, the Lions have hired Harold Nash Jr. to take over the duty of head strength and conditioning coach.
Lions announced they have hired former Patriots coach Harold Nash Jr. as head strength and conditioning coach. Follows Bob Quinn.
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) January 29, 2016
Nash had been a part of the New England coaching staff since 2005. He worked his way up to head strength and conditioning coach for Bill Belichek in 2011 and served in that capacity through the 2015 season.
The Patriots did not renew his contract earlier this week.Patriots beat writer Ben Volin, of the Boston Globe, has reason to believe the Patriots didn’t extend an offer was because they expected that Nash planned on taking another position.
And that Nash's contract was not renewed with the expectation that he would land a head S&C job in Detroit or maybe Atlanta
— Ben Volin (@BenVolin) January 29, 2016
According to ESPN, the Patriots had 77 different players on their 53-man roster throughout the season.
Nash worked in New England’s player-development department prior to becoming the head strength and conditioning coach. He also played for 11 seasons in the Canadian Football League as a defensive back.
He’ll replace Jason Arapoff, who was fired by the Lions after 15 years inside the organization.
One of the major objectives that Quinn has been clear about is improving the strength of players in the development phase.
“There are a few important rooms in this building, in any football building, and I think the strength and conditioning, the weight room, is one of those important rooms,” Quinn said. “I think the leader of that room is a very, very important figure in this organization.”
The Lions’ new head strength and conditioning coach shared part of his philosophy in the weight room and how he built up the Patriots program through the years in an August 2014 video segment on Patriots.com.
“You want to build a program that is beneficial to a guy — in respect to his position,” said Nash. “I don’t want a defensive lineman backpeddling like a defensive back. I think that is one of the main ingredients that this program has. I think from a technology standpoint, the things that come in with guys and having a video guy right on the spot — that’s a teaching tool.
“These things help integrate a player back on the field and helps the coaches know better if players are improving.”
