Virginia defensive ends coach Chris Slade is a name familiar to New England football fans who remember their 1996 AFC champions. A former second round pick, the 31st overall selection in the 1993 NFL Draft placed him on the team's defense for virtually the entire decade ahead of his one-year stint with the Carolina Panthers, but the years spent at Foxboro Stadium established him as a member of the franchise's All-Decade Team of the 1990s pick, while simultaneously revitalizing a team once expected to move to St. Louis.
His role as a tackle machine felt simplified to those of us who grew up playing John Madden Football on the Sega Genesis, but pairing him opposite Willie McGinest taught a significant number of New England football fans about base defensive alignments.