Player Connections
ILB Curtis Lofton was a second round draft pick of the Falcons in 2008 and played in Atlanta his first four NFL seasons.
CB Corey White prepped at Dunwoody (Ga.) High School, where he was a first-team All-DeKalb County selection and played at Samford from 2008-11.
QB Luke McCown played for Atlanta in 2012.
McCown and Atlanta K Matt Bryant were teammates with Tampa Bay from 2007-08.
McCown and Atlanta S Dwight Lowery were teammates in Jacksonville in 2011.
ILB Moise Fokou and Atlanta CB Josh Wilson were college teammates at the University of Maryland.
T Bryce Harris was signed by the Falcons in 2012 as an undrafted free agent and was on their practice squad before being signed to the New Orleans roster after week one.
TE Benjamin Watson played at the University of Georgia from 2001-03.
NT John Jenkins played at UGA from 2011-12.
DE Brandon Deaderick and RB Mark Ingram played at Alabama, where Ingram captured the 2009 Heisman Trophy and the duo were teammates with Falcons WRJulio Jones and CB Javier Arenas.
G Ben Grubbs prepped at Elmore County (Eclectic, Ala.) HS and played for Auburn. Grubbs and Wilson were teammates in Baltimore in 2010.
K Shayne Graham and Falcons QB T.J. Yates were teammates with the Houston Texans in 2012.
CB Terrence Frederick and Atlanta TJake Matthews were college teammates at Texas A&M.
LS Justin Drescher spent part of the 2010 offseason with the Falcons as an undrafted rookie.
TE Jimmy Graham, Atlanta P Matt Bosher and G Harland Gunn were college teammates at the University of Miami (Fla.).
Gunn spent part of the 2012 season on the New Orleans practice squad.
CB Keenan Lewis and Atlanta RBJacquizz Rodgers were college teammates at Oregon State.
FB Erik Lorig and Atlanta OL Gabe Carimi were teammates in Tampa Bay in 2013.
WR Nick Toon and Carimi were teammates at Wisconsin from 2008 -10.
Toon and Falcons S Dezmen Southward were teammates with the Badgers from 2010-11.
Atlanta DT Tyson Jackson played at LSU.
Coaching Connections
Assistant Head Coach/LinebackersJoe Vitt tutored Falcons RBSteven Jackson when he served as interim head coach of the St. Louis Rams in 2005.
Quarterbacks CoachMike Neu served as head coach of the af2 Augusta Stallions in 2000.
Falcons Outside Linebackers Coach Mark Collins served as an assistant at Louisiana-Monroe in 2009.
Collins served on the Michigan coaching staff with Saints Tight Ends Coach Terry Malone from 2003-04.
Atlanta Assistant Head Coach/Wide Receivers Terry Robiskie is a native of Edgard, who lettered four years at LSU and was inducted into the Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame in 2012.
Robiskie tutored Saints Wide Receivers CoachHenry Ellard with Washington from 1994-98.
Falcons Tight Ends Coach Chris Scelfo is a South Louisiana native who played and coached at NLU and served as head coach at Tulane from 1999-2006.
Atlanta Assistant Special Teams Coach Alex Sutulovich and Saints Offensive CoordinatorPete Carmichael served on the same staff at Louisiana Tech from 1997-99.
Defensive line coachBill Johnson served in the same position for Atlanta from 2001-06.
Falcons Defensive Line Coach Bryan Cox finished his playing career with the Saints in 2002.
Defensive Coordinator Rob Ryan tutored Cox in New England in 2001.
Falcons Defensive Coordinator Mike Nolan's father, Dick Nolan, coached the Saints from 1978-80, guiding the Black and Gold to their first .500 season in 1979 as they narrowly missed the franchise's first playoff berth. Mike Nolan served as linebackers coach at LSU in 1986.
