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The New Orleans Saints (6-8) take on the Tampa Bay Buccaneers (8-6) in a Week 16 NFC South showdown, and for some players and coaches there will be some familiar faces on the opposing sideline.
Here we take a look at what connections the two teams share.
Coaching/Front Office
- Saints Head Coach Sean Payton and Tampa Bay Offensive Line Coach George Warhop served on the same offensive coaching staff with the Dallas Cowboys from 2003-04.
- Luke McCown played for Tampa Bay Head Coach Dirk Koetter when he served as offensive coordinator in Atlanta in 2012 and Buccaneers Defensive Coordinator Mike Smith when he was Falcons head coach that season.
- New Orleans QB Luke McCown played for Tampa Bay Head Coach Dirk Koetter when he served as offensive coordinator in Atlanta in 2012 and Buccaneers Defensive Coordinator Mike Smith when he was Falcons head coach that season.
- Tampa Bay college scout Tony Kinkela served as director/football operations at Tulane University from 2006-08.
- Buccaneers Special Teams Coordinator Nate Kazcor served as an assistant coach on the offensive side of the ball at Louisiana-Monroe from 2006-07 and also served on the same Idaho coaching staff with Saints Running Backs Coach Joel Thomas from 2004-05.
- Tampa Bay Offensive Coordinator/Wide Receivers Coach Todd Monken served on the Louisiana Tech Staff in 2000, served as passing game coordinator/wide receivers coach at LSU from 2005- 06 and served as Head Coach at Southern Mississippi from 2013-15.
Player connections
- New Orleans S Vonn Bell, WR Michael Thomas and Tampa Bay DE Noah Spence were college teammates at Ohio State.
- New Orleans LB Dannell Ellerbe and Grimes were teammates in Miami in 2013, while Kuhn and Tampa Bay C Evan Smith were teammates in Green Bay from 2009- 13.
- Luke McCown and Buccaneers LB Daryl Smith were teammates in Jacksonville from 2008-11.
- New Orleans CB Sterling Moore played for Tampa Bay in 2015.
- New Orleans DT Nick Fairley and Tampa Bay T Gosder Cherilus were teammates with the Detroit Lions from 2011-12.
- New Orleans DE Paul Kruger, LB Craig Robertson and Tampa Bay DE John Hughes were teammates with the Cleveland Browns.
- New Orleans C Max Unger and Tampa Bay DT Clinton McDonald were teammates in Seattle from 2011-13.
So the two teams obviously share a bunch of connections, but are you surprised by any of them? Let us know down below.