Packers Head Coach Mike McCarthy served as the offensive coordinator for the New Orleans Saints for five seasons (2000-04).
When the Indianapolis Colts and New Orleans Saints take the field this Sunday in Super Bowl XLIV, there will be a handful of players and coaches involved in the game that have ties to the Packers, as well as many members of the Green Bay organization that have links back to the two teams playing in the league's title contest.
Here is a look at some of the Green Bay connections to each team in Super Bowl XLIV:
NEW ORLEANS SAINTS
- Saints starting safety Darren Sharper played the first eight seasons (1997-2004) of his career with the Packers, earning Pro Bowl recognition with the team in 2000 and 2002. Sunday will be Sharper's second career Super Bowl appearance, with the first one coming in his rookie season of 1997 with the Packers when they took on Denver in Super Bowl XXXII.
- Saints backup quarterback Mark Brunell began his NFL career with the Packers in 1993 as a fifth-round draft choice. He served as Brett Favre's backup in 1994 before being traded to Jacksonville that offseason.
- Saints tight end Tory Humphrey was with the Packers for four seasons (2005-08) and posted a career-high 11 catches for 162 yards last season in Green Bay. He signed with the Saints late this season and played in one game.
- Saints assistant head coach/linebackers Joe Vitt coached defensive backs for the Packers in 1999.
- Saints assistant secondary coach Tony Oden got his first NFL coaching experience with the Packers in 1999 as a summer intern.
- Packers Head Coach Mike McCarthy served as the Saints offensive coordinator for five seasons (2000-04), helping the team post 10 offensive team records and 25 individual marks during his tenure. McCarthy was named NFC Assistant Coach of the Year by USA Today in his first season, and he ran an offense in 2002 that led the NFC with 432 points and 49 touchdowns.
- Packers Vice President of Football Administration/Player Finance Russ Ball spent six seasons (2002-07) with the Saints prior to coming to Green Bay, the final two as vice president of football administration and the first four as senior football administrator. His responsibilities in New Orleans included monitoring the salary cap, contract negotiations and roster management, coordinating different areas of the football operations, and several other administrative functions.
- Packers assistant head coach/inside linebackers coach Winston Moss spent six seasons (2000-05) on the New Orleans coaching staff. Originally hired by the team as defensive assistant/quality control, he was promoted to linebackers coach near the end of the season, a position he held for the rest of his time with the Saints.
- Packers defensive coordinator Dom Capers' first NFL coaching job came with the New Orleans Saints when he served as defensive backs coach there from 1986-91. He helped the Saints earn their first three playoff berths in franchise history, including the '91 campaign when the defense ranked first in yards allowed (245.8 per game) and points allowed (13.2 per game).
- Packers offensive line coach James Campen played center for the Saints for two seasons (1987-88). He originally signed with the team as a non-drafted free agent out of Tulane in 1986, but was waived during training camp. Campen made the team the following year, and played two seasons in New Orleans before coming to the Packers as a free agent in 1989.
- Packers quarterbacks coach Tom Clements' first job in the NFL was with New Orleans when he held the same position from 1997-99 under head coach Mike Ditka. Clements worked with quarterbacks Jake Delhomme and Kerry Collins during his time there.
{sportsad300}* Packers assistant offensive line coach Jerry Fontenot played center for New Orleans for seven seasons (1997-03), the final four when McCarthy was the team's offensive coordinator. After sustaining a season-ending knee injury in 1998, Fontenot started 80 straight games for the Saints from 1999-2003.
- Packers tight ends coach Ben McAdoo entered the NFL coaching ranks in 2004 with the Saints as an offensive assistant/quality control, and worked directly with McCarthy.
- Packers secondary-safeties coach Darren Perry concluded his nine-year NFL playing career in 2000 when he played in all 16 games with the Saints. He posted three interceptions that season for a Saints team that advanced to the playoffs.
- Packers wide receivers coach Jimmy Robinson held the same position with the Saints for two seasons (2004-05) before coming to Green Bay. In his first season, he guided Joe Horn, who tied a career best and matched the NFC lead with 94 catches.
- Packers special teams assistant Chad Morton was a fifth-round draft choice of the Saints in 2000 and played one season in New Orleans. In the playoffs that year, Morton tied the NFL single-game playoff record with 13 receptions against Minnesota, a mark that still stands today.
INDIANAPOLIS COLTS
- Colts defensive tackle Daniel Muir played in three games with the Packers in 2007 after making the team as a non-drafted free agent in training camp that year. He played in all 16 games with 10 starts for Indianapolis this season, and led the defensive line with 66 tackles.
- Packers safety Matt Giordano was a fourth-round draft selection of the Colts in 2005 and played four seasons in Indianapolis (2005-08) before coming to Green Bay this season. He appeared in 55 games with six starts during his time in Indianapolis, and was a part of the Colts' Super Bowl XLI-winning team.
- Robinson coached wide receivers for the Colts for four seasons (1994-97). In 1996, he helped launch the career of perennial Pro Bowler Marvin Harrison, who became only the third rookie in franchise history to lead the team in receiving.
