Photos: Cleveland Browns


Ben Bloom and Drew Petzing have had plenty of experience in the NFL over the last two decades.

Petzing’s coaching journey began at Middlebury as a grad assistant and has gone through Harvard, BC, Yale, the Vikings, the Cowboys and the Browns. Bloom took a similar path, graduating from Tufts before working with the program as a grad assistant. Bloom went on to coach at Harvard – which is around the time where he and Petzing struck up a working relationship – before working for the Browns, Cowboys and then again with Cleveland.

Bloom, a 2001 Wellesley graduate, and Petzing, a 2005 grad, didn’t really know each other growing up because of the age difference, but through mutual friends, co-workers and bosses, they’ve have had their careers intertwined for a long time.

Now, when the Browns visit Gillette Stadium for a very important game on Sunday, the former Wellesley Raiders will fully embrace the opportunity to come home and enjoy seeing some familiar faces.

“It’s always special to come home to Massachusetts, whether it’s Foxboro in November or Cape Cod in July,” Bloom said recently. “The opportunity to see some family and friends while on the road is cool. I grew up a Patriots fan, but I’m a Browns fan now.”

Petzing grew up a Bills fan, but still appreciates the opportunity to play in The Razor.

“This will be my third time playing in Foxborough but since my parents grew up in upstate New York and I was born in Rochester, NY we grew up big Bills fans so that stadium gives me a little bit more of that feeling than Gillette,” Petzing admitted. “That being said, anytime we play the Patriots it’s a quick reminder of who my closest friends and family are based on which team they root for come Sunday.”

With a ton of talent on the roster, both Petzing and Bloom are becoming better coaches simply by working with guys like Myles Garrett, Baker Mayfield, Nick Chubb, David Njoku and Austin Hooper. Petzing is the tight ends coach while Bloom is the defensive run game coordinator.

“In terms of working with Austin and David those two guys…and really Harrison Bryant as well, are football junkies and all very smart players,” Petzing said. “Anytime you get guys like them who study the game, prepare, and work like they do it certainly makes me a better coach. Just the way they conceptualize and communicate the game allows me to get a better understanding of what they are seeing and doing out there so we can prepare better during the week and make in game adjustments faster.

“As for Baker his competitive spirit and how important this team and this game are to him makes it enjoyable to go out there and practice and prepare with him each week. He is all in all the time and as a coach and I would imagine as a player there is a level of confidence in knowing how hard he works and how much he cares and you feel that being around him on a day to day basis.”

“It’s certainly a challenge to defend our offense’s run game in practice,” Bloom added. “Nick Chubb and the other runners (Kareem Hunt, D’Ernest Johnson) all have speed, power, elusiveness, vision, and toughness. Our offensive line is physical and terrific in terms of fundamentals. Our coaching staff does a great job coaching technique and implementing a versatile scheme. As a run defense, we benefit from competing against them. We have a fun group to coach on defense. The guys work hard in practice and compete on game day. We are fortunate to coach talented players who enjoy playing football together.”

Both Bloom and Petzing will have their hands full this weekend trying to match wits with Bill Belichick and his staff, but they’ll be able to take comfort in knowing there’s some familiar faces in the building rooting for them whether the Browns win or lose.