Syracuse, N.Y. — There’s no shortage of familiar names vying for the Super Bowl in pro football.
Syracuse players, coaches and staffers are well-represented in this year’s NFL playoffs, including a couple who punched their ticket on the final weekend of the regular season.
In recent years, if a player or coach won a Super Bowl, it usually came via their association with the New England Patriots.
But there are coaches on staff for the top seeds in both the AFC and NFC this season.
Chandler Jones, the last Syracuse player to win a Super Bowl ring — with the Patriots, of course — is back in the playoffs for the first time as a member of the Arizona Cardinals.
Players
Arizona Cardinals
Chandler Jones
Jones has been consistent throughout his 10-year career. He finished the regular season with 10.5 sacks, the seventh time he has hit a double-digit sack total. The only years in which he didn’t reach that threshold came in his rookie season and injury-shortened years in 2014 (hip) and 2020 (biceps).
This will be Jones’ first playoff appearance with Arizona since being traded to the Cardinals in 2016. He won a Super Bowl with the New England Patriots in 2015.
Justin Pugh
Pugh, a cornerstone piece to two bowl-winning Syracuse teams in 2010 and 2012, has recovered from a mid-season calf injury to return to the starting lineup at left guard.
The Cardinals have lost four of their last five games and are the No. 5 seed in the NFC after starting the season 10-2.
They travel to Los Angeles to face the Rams next Monday night.
Koda Martin
Martin, the right tackle on SU’s 10-win team in 2018, has spent most of this season on the Cardinals’ practice squad, but he did play in two games earlier this season.
San Francisco 49ers
Chris Slayton
Slayton was another key piece on the 2018 Orange. He was signed to the Pittsburgh Steelers’ practice squad for a week in October and then was signed to the 49ers’ practice squad in mid-November.
The 49ers are the No. 6 seed in the NFC and travel to Dallas for Sunday afternoon’s Wild Card round.
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Sterling Hofrichter
Hofrichter, SU’s punter from 2016-2019, filled in for starter Bradley Pinion the last couple of weeks while the Bucs’ punter was out as a result of Covid policies.
The Bucs are the No. 2 seed in the NFC and host the Eagles on Sunday afternoon.
Kansas City Chiefs
Derrick Gore
Gore is a former Nottingham High School running back who has been part of Kansas City’s backfield rotation throughout the year.
Gore has rushed for 256 and two touchdowns on 51 carries this season, adding 105 yards on eight receptions.
A journeyman since leaving Nottingham, Gore prepped for a year at Coffeyville Community College in Kansas before enrolling at Alabama as a walk-on for the Crimson Tide’s national championship season in 2015. He finished up his college career at Louisiana-Monroe before breaking into the NFL as an undrafted free agent with the Chargers.
He spent time on the practice squads for the Chargers, Washington Football Team and Chiefs before being placed on the active roster in October.
The Chiefs are the No. 2 seed in AFC and host the Steelers on Sunday night.
Coaches
Green Bay Packers
Nathaniel Hackett
Hackett, the offensive coordinator under Marrone at Syracuse and later Buffalo and Jacksonville, is in his third season as OC in Green Bay.
Hackett will reportedly interview for the Jaguars’ head-coaching vacancy.
Justin Outten
Outten, who played for the Orange through the transition from Paul Pasqualoni to Greg Robinson, got his start in coaching as a graduate assistant at Syracuse under Robinson in 2007.
Since then he has coached high school ball in Texas and broke into the NFL as an intern for the Falcons before landing in Green Bay.
The Packers are the No. 1 seed in the NFC and earned a first-round bye.
Tennessee Titans
Rob Moore
Moore is one of the best receivers in Syracuse history, setting school records in yardage and touchdowns by the end of his career.
He was an assistant through the coaching transition from Marrone to Scott Shafer before rejoining Marrone in Buffalo. He is in his fourth season on the Titans’ coaching staff.
The Titans are the No. 1 seed in the AFC and are off this week.
New England Patriots
Ivan Fears
Fears spent a decade on the Syracuse coaching staff and was one of two assistants Dick MacPherson retained off Frank Maloney’s staff in 1980.
Fears has coached in nine Super Bowls with the New England Patriots and has worked for the organization for 25 seasons.
The Patriots are the No. 6 seed in the AFC and travel to Buffalo for Saturday night’s Wild Card matchup.
Pittsburgh Steelers
Teryl Austin
The Steelers snuck into the playoffs with a victory against the Ravens and a loss by the Colts, all before having to sweat out the Chargers-Raiders outcome on Sunday night.
It means Austin is back in the postseason. He’s in his third season as the senior defensive assistant/secondary after defensive coordinator stints in Detroit and Cincinnati.
Austin as an assistant under Pasqualoni from 1996-98.
The Steelers are the No. 7 seed in the AFC and travel to Kansas City on Sunday night.
Cincinnati Bengals
Dan Pitcher
Pitcher is a Cortland native and former quarterback and assistant at Cortland State now coaching Joe Burrow and the other quarterbacks in Cincinnati.
He’s in his 10th season NFL and his sixth as an assistant coach with the Bengals, having been promoted to quarterbacks coach ahead of the 2020 season.
Front office
Las Vegas Raiders
Dwayne Joseph
Joseph and the Raiders clinched the last playoff spot in a thrilling overtime victory against the Los Angeles Chargers on Sunday night.
It meant one former Syracuse football player was headed to the playoffs while another stayed home. JoJo Wooden, who played for SU from 1988-92, is the Chargers’ director of player personnel.
Joseph was hired by the Raiders as their director of pro scouting. This is the Raiders’ first playoff appearance since Joseph was hired. He had previously spent five seasons as the director of pro personnel with the Philadelphia Eagles, winning a Super Bowl in 2018.
Arizona Cardinals
Quentin Harris
Harris is in his first season as vice president of player personnel and has been with the Cardinals’ scouting department since 2008.
He was signed by the Cardinals as an undrafted rookie free agent in 2002 out of Syracuse, where he finished his career as an honorable mention All-American and first-team All-Big East safety as a senior in 2001.
Staffers
Buffalo Bills
There’s a number of former Syracuse staffers on the Bills.
Asil Mulbah, who helped run SU’s recruiting department under Dino Babers, is a pro scout for Buffalo.
Jim Salgado is in his fifth season on the Bills defensive staff and his second as nickels coach. Salgado was a defensive assistant in the secondary at Syracuse under Greg Robinson.
Denny Kellington is on the athletic training staff, and Hal Luther is on the strength and conditioning staff.
New England Patriots
Matt Patricia
Patricia landed back on Bill Belichick’s staff as senior football advisor after a three-year run as head coach of the Detroit Lions.
Patricia, a Sherrill, New York native and Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute graduate, was a graduate assistant under Pasqualoni from 2001-03.
Nick Caley, the tight ends/fullbacks coach, was on Babers’ first staff at Eastern Illinois in 2012.
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