Image courtesy of the New England Patriots

FOXBOROUGH – No one in New England was more happy for Bob Chesney when he got the UCLA job than Ashton Grant.

It’s well-known that the Patriots’ quarterbacks coach played for Chesney during his days at Assumption. Of course, he was thrilled for his old coach and mentor to get his first big time FBS gig after leading James Madison to the College Football Playoff.

“Coach Chesney was a big influence on my coaching career and still continues to be,” Grant said while speaking on Thursday. “During the bye week I actually flew down to James Madison for the Sun Belt championship and he let me on the sideline, so I was there for that. Then, we went to his house afterwards and kind of celebrated the win.

“I’m happy for him, happy for his family. His kids are like nieces and nephews to me. He’s like an uncle figure to me. So, I’m super excited for him. We talk – if not every week, every other week – so, it’s cool to see that, but it kind of hurts. The time difference now is going to be a little weird. But, I’m happy for him.”

Grant has had an important role in Drake Maye’s second-year leap this season, along with Josh McDaniels and obviously, Maye himself. Lessons learned from Chesney are still being applied even as he works with the new face of the franchise in Foxborough.

“When I played, we have our pillars team wise. A lot of teams have them and his were to always have a positive attitude, have a great attention to detail and do everything with some urgency,” explained Grant. “So, I try to take that into my coaching career now. I always come in with the same attitude, always positive. I’m urgent with everything I do and I always try to be super detail-oriented.”

It’s Chesney’s confidence that he instills in others that Grant said has always stood out most. It’s a mindset that he hopes to instill in his players, whether here in New England or anywhere else down the line in his coaching career.

“When we were players, we never went into a game thinking if we were going to win. It was ‘how much are we going to win by?’ He just instilled this unwavering confidence in you,” Grant added. “He walked the walk himself too. We thought the guy was superman. We were all 18 and 21-year olds at the time. I remember him being sick and he’s like, ‘Ashton, sickness doesn’t last for more than 24 hours.’

“Seeing that attitude…I think when I was there, my senior year, we played awesome teams and were winning 70-0, 50-3, we were punishing some teams and like, the next day in practice, it was like we never did. We just competed every day…his big thing was ‘I don’t want to do anything on Saturday.”

As Chesney’s name continues to ascend up the coaching ranks and become more nationally known, former players now making an impact in the NFL like Grant will never forget how much he did for them.

So much so, that some of Chesney’s lessons are now being applied inside the building at 1 Patriot Place.

“It’s fun to play for him, because if you practice it, he’s going to let it rip,” added Grant.

Hopefully, he and Josh McDaneils continue to let Drake Maye let it rip all the way to a division title this Sunday.