An inside look at the Saints rookies during their regular season debut against the Minnesota Vikings.
• Offensive Coordinator Pete Carmichael prepped at Medway (Mass.) HS in football and baseball and went on to a college 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 New Hampshire in 1994.
• New England WR Brandin Cooks was a first round draft pick of the Saints in 2014, playing for them from 2014-16.
• Senior Defensive Asst. Peter Giunta is a Salem, Mass. native who played at St. Johns (Danvers, Mass.) Prep, Northeastern and served as an assistant at Brown.
• New England area scout Tim Heffelfinger served in the same position with New Orleans from 1998-2005.
• Linebackers Coach Mike Nolan served on Patriots Offensive Coordinator Josh McDaniels' staff when he was head coach in Denver in 2009 as his defensive coordinator.
• TE Michael Hoomanawanui played for the Patriots from 2012-14. Hoomanawanui and Patriots WR Danny Amendola were teammates with the Rams from 2010-11 and in New England from 2013-14.
• LB Craig Robertson and New England Asst. Special Teams Coach Bubba Ventrone were Cleveland teammates in Cleveland.
• New England K Stephen Gostkowski is a Baton Rouge native who prepped at Madison (Miss.) Central HS.
• TE Coby Fleener and Patriots TE Dwayne Allen were draft picks of Indianapolis in 2012 and teammates from 2012-15...LB Stephone Anthony and Allen were teammates at Clemson in 2011.
• Patriots wide receivers coach Chad O'Shea served as special teams/recruiting coor
dinator at Southern Mississippi from 2000-02. Giunta and O'Shea served on the Chiefs staff from 2004-05.
• Patriots RB Brandon Bolden is a Baton Rouge native who played at Mississippi.
• VP of Football Administration Khai Harley earned a master's degree in sports management from Springfield College.
• New England CB Malcolm Butler is a Vicksburg, Miss. native.
• DL Mitchell Loewen and Patriots DE Trey Flowers were teammates at Arkansas.
• New England RB Mike Gillislee was drafted by New Orleans Assistant GM/College Scouting Director Jeff Ireland as General Manager in Miami in 2013.
• Patriots WR Chris Hogan played for Miami when Ireland was GM from 2011-12.
• New England P Ryan Allen played at Louisiana Tech.
• Saints RB Mark Ingram II and Patriots LB Dont'a Hightower were teammates at Alabama.
• S Marcus Williams played at Utah with Patriots CB Eric Rowe.
• WR Austin Carr spent the preseason with New England.