Connections between New Orleans Saints and Dallas Cowboys
By John Hendrix
The New Orleans Saints square off with the Dallas Cowboys for the 28th time in their series history this Sunday. Dallas leads the all-time series 16-11, but New Orleans has won 8 out of the last 10 contests. Roots between the two franchises run deep, and you might be shocked to find several ties from the past several decades.
Here’s the Saints-Cowboys connections:
Coaching/Front office connections
- Head coach Sean Payton was on the Cowboys coaching staff from 2003-2005.
- Defensive coordinator Rob Ryan was the defensive coordinator for Dallas from 2011-2012.
- Cowboys assistant secondary coach Joe Baker served on the Saints coaching staff from 2000-2004.
- Senior Defensive Assistant Dennis Allen is originally from Hurst, Texas and played at Texas A&M from 1996-1999.
- Cowboys Pro Scout Alex Loomis is the son of Saints Executive Vice President/General Manager Mickey Loomis.
- Secondary Coach Wesley McGriff was the defensive backs coach and recruiting coordinator at Baylor from 2003-2006.
- Cowboys Head Coach Jason Garrett was a member of the Saints practice squad for part of the 1989 season. He was tutored by Sean Payton when he served as the Giants offensive coordinator in the 90s. Garrett’s father Jim served on the New Orleans staff under Hank Stram from 1976-1977. Garrett’s brother, Judd, who is now the Cowboys’ director of pro scouting, served on the Saints staff from 1997-1999.
- Defensive line coach Bill Johnson was in the same position at Texas A&M from 1992-1999.
- Cowboys quarterbacks coach Wade Wilson played for New Orleans from1993-94.
- Outside linebackers coach Brian Young is an El Paso native who started at Texas-El Paso from 1996-1999.
- Cowboys Assistant Strength And Conditioning Coach Brett Bech prepped at Northshore High School in Slidell, Louisiana. Bech played at LSU from 1992-1994, and for the Saints from 1996-1999.
- Cowboys Strength and Conditioning Coach Mike Woicik served in the same position in New Orleans from 1997-1999.
Player connections
- Drew Brees attended Westlake High School in Austin, Texas.
- Kenny Vaccaro attended Brownwood and Early High Schools, and then played for the University of Texas.
- Thomas Morstead handled punting and kicking duties at Southern Methodist from 2006-2008, and was a teammate of Cowboys wide receiver Cole Beasley.
- Marcus Murphy attended DeSoto High School in DeSoto, Texas.
- Ben Watson and Cowboys quarterback Matt Cassel were teammates in New England from 2005-2008. Michael Mauti, Kevin Williams and Cassel were all teammates in Minnesota.
- Watson was a teammate of Cowboys quarterback Brandon Weeden at Cleveland during the 2012 season.
- Kyle Wilson and Cowboys quarterback Kellen Moore were teammates at Boise State.
- Long snapper Justin Drescher attended Carroll High School in Southlake, Texas.
- Cowboys long snapper L.P. Ladouceur was originally an undrafted rookie free agent signing by the Saints in 2005, but did not make final cuts.
- Luke McCown attended Jacksonville High School in Jacksonville, Texas.
- David Hawthorne attended Corsicana High School, and would start 38 games at Texas Christian University.
- Khiry Robinson attended Belton High School in Belton Texas, and played college football at West Texas A&M.
Which connections surprised you the most?