Oakland Raiders, New Orleans Saints connections

When the New Orleans Saints go up against the Oakland Raiders on Sunday, it will be for the 13th time in NFL history. The Saints currently have the upper hand, but that could change after the next game. The black and gold lead the all-time series 6-5-1.

This game could tell us a lot about the 2016 team, and they will need to get off to a good start. Before we take a look at who could win the game and what we would like to see, we take a look at the connections the two teams share.

Coaching/Front Office connections

• Oakland coach Jack Del Rio was originally drafted by the New Orleans Saints in 1985. After being picked in the first round, he only played one season with the Saints before being traded to the Kansas City Chiefs.
• Saints defensive coordinator Dennis Allen served as head coach for the Oakland Raiders from 2012 to 2014. After the team went 0-4 in the beginning of the 2014 season, GM Reggie McKenzie decided to fire Allen.
• Saints offensive assistant coach Ronald Curry was drafted by the Oakland Raiders in the seventh round of the 2002 NFL draft. He then went on to play seven seasons for the club.
• Saints Head Coach Sean Payton, Assistant Head Coach/ Linebackers Joe Vitt and Oakland Offensive Coordinator Bill Musgrave served on the same coaching staff with the Eagles in 1998.
• Saints Wide Receivers Coach John Morton originally signed with the Raiders as an undrafted free agent in 1993 and spent part of his next two seasons on their practice squad and returned to the silver and black for training camp in 1996.
• Saints Secondary Coach Aaron Glenn and Oakland Wide Receivers Coach Rob Moore were teammates with the New York Jets in 1994.

Player Connections

• New Orleans DT Tyeler Davison played at Fresno State from 2011-14, where he was a college teammate of Raiders QB Derek Carr during his first three seasons.
• New Orleans LB Craig Robertson and Oakland RB Jamize Olawale were college teammates at North Texas.
• Saints LBs Nate Stupar and Michael Mauti and Oakland QB Matt McGloin were college teammates at Penn State.
• Newly acquired New Orleans DE Paul Kruger and Oakland CB Sean Smith were college teammates at Utah.
• Saints C Max Unger and Oakland LB Bruce Irvin were teammates in Seattle from 2012-14, with both helping lead the Seahawks to a Super Bowl victory in Super Bowl XLVIII.
• New Orleans S Jairus Byrd, RB C.J. Spiller and Oakland TE Lee Smith were teammates in Buffalo
• Linebacker Nate Stupar was originally picked by the Oakland Raiders in 2012. He was a seventh-round draft pick. He ended up spending his rookie year on the team’s practice squad.
• Raiders G Vadal Alexander is a New Orleans native who played at LSU.

So, the two teams obviously share a lot of connections. It will be interesting to see if any of these connections have any affect on the game tomorrow. What do you think?