PATRIOTS NOTEBOOK: Jags coach not surprised by career paths Gilmore, Hogan have taken

The Jacksonville Jaguars’ Doug Marrone coached Patriots cornerback Stephon Gilmore and wide receiver Chris Hogan early in their careers with the Buffalo Bills.

FOXBORO – Strictly business.

That is what former Bills head coach Doug Marrone, now the head coach of the Jacksonville Jaguars, thinks of when he remembers Patriots cornerback Stephon Gilmore and wide receiver Chris Hogan during their early days in Buffalo.

“Those guys,” Marrone, whose Jaguars will host the Patriots at TIAA Bank Field on Sunday, said, “are so business-type (in their) approaches.”

Marrone’s rookie season as an NFL head coach (2013) was Gilmore’s second year in the league as a cornerback with the Bills, who’d invested the 10th overall pick in the 2012 NFL Draft in the All-Southeastern Conference selection from South Carolina.

“I remember the one thing about Stephon when we were there early on, I just remember how much he wanted to be the best,” said Marrone. “(He was really interested in) like all the little things and really wanted to know everything inside and out and the way he practiced and the way he played and how competitive he was and, shoot, we played with him (when) he had one hand basically. He had hurt his wrist and he wound up out there, he was playing his butt off. (He’s) just this highly competitive kid.”

Suiting up for Marrone for 25 games, 23 of them starts, over the 2013-2014 seasons, Gilmore registered 81 tackles, five interceptions, 16 passes defensed and one forced fumble.

Originally signed by the 49ers in 2011 as a rookie free-agent wide receiver out of Monmouth, Hogan bounced from San Francisco to the New York Giants to Miami to Buffalo, signing with the Bills’ practice squad in November 2012 prior to making his NFL debut with them the following season.

Appearing in all 32 games Marrone coached with the Bills, Hogan caught 51 passes for 509 yards and four touchdowns, his career high of 41 receptions coming under Marrone’s watch in 2014.

“With Chris, Chris’ story is a long road, one of those underdog-type stories,” said Marrone, “but whether we were drafting guys or bringing guys in nobody was going to beat him out. He was just smart. He could play all the positions.”

Marrone said it’s no mystery to him why the pair’s path has taken them to where they are today.

Both players remained in Buffalo following Marrone’s departure, Hogan playing there through 2015 and then signing with the Patriots as a restricted free agent in March 2016 and contributing to a Super Bowl championship, Gilmore playing with the Bills through 2016 and then signing with the Pats as an unrestricted free agent in March 2017 and taking over as the team’s top cornerback.

“It’s not unusual why they are where they are right now and how they wound up there,” said Marrone. “They’re both really good football players that are both really smart and really team-conscious guys. I mean that.”

Aches and pains: Leonard Fournette, listed as questionable with the hamstring injury he suffered in last Sunday’s 20-15 season-opening win over the New York Giants, was the only Jaguar listed on the team’s injury report on Friday. Fournette did not practice with the team this week.

The Patriots list running back Rex Burkhead (concussion), offensive tackle Marcus Cannon (calf), cornerback Keion Crossen (hamstring) and running back Sony Michel (knee), all of whom were limited in practice on Friday, as questionable for Sunday’s game.

No invite: Patriots head coach Bill Belichick had no answer when asked Friday why Ja’Whaun Bentley slipped to his team in the fifth round but said he was surprised the Purdue linebacker wasn’t invited to the NFL Scouting Combine in Indianapolis.

“It wasn’t to save airfare,” said Belichick. “He was 20 minutes away.”

Rivers will flow: Second-year defensive end Derek Rivers, who spent his rookie season on the injured reserve list with a torn anterior cruciate ligament, may have been a healthy scratch for last Sunday’s 27-20 season-opening win over the Houston Texans, but Belichick believes his time will come.

“He’s a good player,” said Belichick. “He’s definitely going to help us.”

Braintree’s Lacey recognized: Kicking off this season’s Celebrate Volunteerism campaign, Patrick Lacey from Braintree was selected the first 2018 Patriots Difference Maker of the Week for his commitment to the Beat NB Cancer (neuroblastoma, a type of childhood cancer) Foundation.

Fifteen individuals will be named Patriots Difference Makers throughout the season. The volunteers will be recognized on the Patriots website and in print materials, including Patriots Football Weekly and Patriots GameDay magazine, and honored during a ceremony at the Patriots' regular-season finale against the New York Jets at Gillette Stadium on Dec. 30.

Fans can nominate a local volunteer for the Patriots Difference Maker of the Week award by visiting www.patriots.com/community.