Player Connections
*New England running back Stevan Ridley is a Natchez, Mississippi native who starred at LSU where he became the 13th Tiger to rush for 1,000 yards in a single season.
*New England punter Ryan Allen spent his college career at Louisiana Tech.
*Saints running back Mark Ingram and Patriots linebacker Dont'a Hightower were teammates at Alabama.
*Wide receiver Robert Meachem and outside linebacker Parys Haralson were teammates at Tennessee with Patriots linebacker Jerod Mayo.
*Linebacker Jonathan Vilma starred with New England defensive lineman Vince Wilfork at the University of Miami.
*Nose tackle Broderick Bunkley and Patriots running back Leon Washington were teammates for the Florida State Seminoles.
*Outside linebacker Martez Wilson and defensive end Glenn Foster were college teammates with Patriots defensive lineman Michael Buchanan, tight end Michael Hoomanawanui, and defensive back Tavon Wilson.
Coaching Connections
*Offensive Coordinator Pete Carmichael prepped at Medway (Mass.) High School in football and baseball and went on to a collegiate baseball career at Boston College where he was a four-year letterman and team captain in 1994. Carmichael started his coaching career as an assistant at the University of New Hampshire in 1994.
*Defensive Coordinator Rob Ryan spent four seasons (2000-03) as the linebackers coach under Bill Belichick in New England, winning two Super Bowls.
*New England area scout Tim Heffelfinger served in the same position with New Orleans from 1998-2005.
*Saints tight ends coach Terry Malone attended the College of the Holy Cross and was a four-year starter at tight end for the Crusaders. Malone coached the Crusaders tight ends in 1985 and served as offensive line coach at Boston College in 2006.
*New England defensive end/linebacker Rob Ninkovich was a fifth round draft choice of the Saints in 2006 and spent the 2006 campaign and part of the 2008 season with the club.
*New Orleans wide receiver Marques Colston and Patriots defensive back Kyle Arrington were teammates at Hofstra.
*New England kicker Stephen Gostkowski is a Baton Rouge native who prepped at Madison (Miss.) Central High School.
*Saints defensive line coach Bill Johnson and New England special teams coach Scott O'Brien served on the same staff in Denver from 2007- 08.
*New England wide receivers coach Chad O'Shea served as special teams/recruiting coordinator at the University of Southern Mississippi from 2000-02.
*Assistant head coach Joe Vitt and O'Shea served on the same Kansas City staff in 2003.
*Patriots director of college scouting Jonathan Robinson served as an assistant coach at Nicholls State from 1999-2001.
*Director of football administration Khai Harley earned a master's degree in sports management from Springfield College in 2001.
*Area scout Josh Lucas played safety at Harvard from 1997-98.
*Patriots strength and conditioning coach Harold Nash is a New Orleans native who prepped at St. Augustine High School before walking on at the University of Southwestern Louisiana (now Louisiana-Lafayette).
