Lions hire defensive assistant Gregory

The Detroit Lions hired Steve Gregory as a defensive assistant, the team announced Wednesday.

New Lions head coach Matt Patricia has a history with Gregory. Gregory played eight years in the NFL, including two years as a starting safety with the New England Patriots when Patricia was the Patriots' defensive coordinator.

Gregory also played at Syracuse while Patricia was a graduate assistant coach with the Orange. Gregory played under head coach Paul Pasqualoni at Syracuse, and Pasqualoni was recently hired as the Lions' offensive coordinator.

Gregory started his coaching career at Syracuse, becoming the team's special teams quality control coach in 2015.