SAINTS vs. CARDINALS CONNECTIONS
Saints DE Cameron Jordan prepped at Chandler (Az.) HS
New Orleans QB Spencer Rattler prepped at Pinnacle HS in Phoenix, where he threw for an Arizona state high school record 11,083 yards in his career with 116 touchdown passes. Rattler and Arizona LB Jordan Burch were college teammates at South Carolina in 2022
New Orleans QB Tyler Shough prepped at Hamilton (Chandler, Ariz.) HS, where he threw for 3,071 yards and 30 touchdowns with only five interceptions as a senior in 2017, when he garnered first-team 6A Premier League honors and All-Chandler Unified School District accolades
Saints VP of Player Development Fred McAfee played for the Cardinals in 1994
New Orleans Edges Coach Jay Rodgers is the brother of Cardinals Assistant Head Coach/Special Teams Coordinator Jeff Rodgers. The brothers served on the same Denver Broncos coaching staff from 2011-14 and same Chicago Bears staff from 2015-17, with Saints Defensive Coordinator Brandon Staley serving on the 2017 staff with them
Saints LS Zach Wood was a college teammate of Cardinals OL Evan Brown from 2014-15 at SMU
Cardinals P Blake Gilikin was originally signed by New Orleans as an undrafted free agent in 2020 and handled their punting duties from 2021-2022
Saints WR Chris Olave was college teammates with Cardinals LB Baron Browning, CB Denzel Burke, WR Marvin Harrison Jr., T Josh Fryar, OL Paris Johnson and LB Cody Simon at Ohio State. Saints LB Pete Werner and DE Chase Young also played with Browning with the Buckeyes. New Orleans WR Devaughn Vele and Browning were teammates with the Denver Broncos in 2024. Young and Cardinals QB Jacoby Brissett were teammates with the Washington Commanders in 2023. Saints DT Davon Godchaux and Brissett were teammates with the New England Patriots in 2024. Godchaux played with Cardinals LB Mack Wilson (2022-23) and K Chad Ryland (2023) in New England. Godchaux and Brown were teammates with the Miami Dolphins in 2019
Cardinals NT P.J. Mustipher, who played for the Saints in 2023, was college teammates with Saints TE Juwan Johnson at Penn State in 2018
Saints WR Trey Palmer and Cardinals TE Travis Vokolek were teammates at Nebraska in 2022
Saints Dir. of Football Operations Derek Stamnos graduated from Arizona State. Cardinals S Kitan Crawford was college teammates of Saints T Kelvin Banks Jr., DT Vernon Broughton and LB Jaylan Ford at the University of Texas and was tutored by Saints Defensive Pass Game Coordinator Terry Joseph
Arizona Head Strength and Conditioning Coach Evan Marcus served as assistant strength and conditioning coach in New Orleans from 2000-02
Saints RB Kendre Miller played at TCU with Cardinals RB Emari Demercado from 2021-2022
New Orleans TE Moliki Matavao and Shough were teammates with Cardinals RB Trey Benson at Oregon. Shough and Cardinals S Dadrion Taylor-Demerson were college teammates at Texas Tech
Saints TE Foster Moreau played with Cardinals WR Zay Jones with the Raiders. Saints OL Luke Fortner played with Jones in Jacksonville from 2022-23. Staley and Arizona Head Coach Jonathan Gannon are both Cleveland, Ohio area natives and close friends, with Gannon being the Godfather of Staley’s children. New Orleans Run Game Coordinator T.J. Paganetti, Gannon and Cardinals Defensive Coordinator Drew Rallis served on the same Philadelphia Eagles staff from 2021-22. Staley served as Cardinals Outside Linebackers Coach Matt Feeney’s defensive coordinator at John Carroll in 2013, where he played linebacker
Cardinals Defensive Backs Coach Patrick Toney served on the coaching staff at Southeastern Louisiana from 2012-14 and as a member of the Louisiana staff from 2018-21
Saints DT Bryan Bresee and Cardinals LB Xavier Thomas were teammates at Clemson
New Orleans LB Demaro Davis played with Cardinals T Kelvin Beachum with the New York Jets in 2017
New Orleans S Jonas Sanker and Cardinals S Joey Blount were teammates at Virginia in 2021
Cardinals Offensive Quality Control Coach Blaine Gautier was a first-team All-State quarterback at Lutcher HS, then played quarterback at the University of Louisiana from 2019-12, served as an offensive analyst at LSU from 2015-19 and served as wide receivers coach at McNeese State from 2020-21
Saints Area Scout C.J. Leak and Arizona Vice President, Player Personnel Rob Kisiel served on the same Houston player personnel staff from 2018-20