It is an exciting time for New England Patriots defensive coordinator Matt Patricia. Not only are the Patriots advancing to the AFC Conference Championship, but he has already essentially secured a head coaching gig for the Detroit Lions after this season.

Aside from his coaching prowess, Patricia has become somewhat of an NFL mogul for his Paul Bunyan-esque beard swaying on the sidelines. However, he was not always known for sporting such serious facial hair. According to Dave Birkett of the Detroit Free Press, friends of Patricia revealed that there is a reason behind the beard:

“He’ll probably kill me, but he’s got dimples,” said Travis Krol, Patricia’s former roommate and teammate at RPI. “You can’t be a coach of men with dimples, so I think he covers it up with the beard.”

Fortunately, Twitter user @a_a_ron_att dug up a picture which proves this claim:

https://twitter.com/a_a_ron_att/status/953066109523103745

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Another acquaintance echoed the same sentiment and even suggested it had begun when he started coaching New England back in 2005.

 “I think it was when he started coaching the offensive line (in 2005) and if you look back at the Patriots offensive line guys, they had beards and I think that’s when it started,” said Scott Sasenbury, another ex-teammate and friend of Patricia’s from his college days. “All of my friends would say, ‘What in the world? What’s he doing? Why does he have an ugly beard?’ I’m like, ‘I don’t know. Just probably cause he doesn’t have time to shave.' “

While the change may have taken Patricia's friends by surprise, it is hard-pressed for fans now to ever think of a time when he did not have a beard. Needless to say, his new look has certainly served him well after barking orders for an elite franchise like the Patriots for over a decade.

It is not often head coaches stray away from the conventional clean-cut look. So will be interesting to see whether or not Matt Patricia keeps the beard when he assumes his head coaching job in Detroit next season.