Bengals vs Colts Preseason Week 4: player, team and coaching connections

Coaching Connections

• Colts Associate Head Coach Rod Chudzinski was born in Toledo, Ohio. He attended Toledo St. Johns High School.
• Indianapolis Linebackers Coach Jeff FitzGerald got his start in collegiate coaching at the University of Cincinnati, serving as a graduate assistant in 1985.
• Colts Offensive Line Coach Joe Gilbert was the offensive line coach at Toledo for three seasons from 2001-03. He returned to Toledo for one season (2007) to coach the tight ends.
• Indianapolis Offensive Line Coach Hal Hunter coached the offensive line at Akron for four seasons from 1987-1990.
• Bengals Running Backs Coach Kyle Caskey coached at Indiana State for three seasons from 2006-08. • Cincinnati Defensive Line Coach Jay Hayes was a graduate assistant at Notre Dame for four seasons (1988-91).
• Bengals Defensive Assistant/Quality Control Coach Marcus Lewis was a linebacker at Indiana State from 2008-11. Lewis is the son of Bengals Head Coach Marvin Lewis.
• Colts General Manager Ryan Grigson was drafted by the Bengals in the sixth round (175th overall) of the 1995 NFL Draft.
• Bengals Defensive Backs Coach Vance Joseph played one season as a cornerback for the Colts in 1996.
• Colts Linebackers Coach Jeff FitzGerald served in the same capacity for Cincinnati for four seasons 2008-2011).
• A handful of Colts and Bengals coaches worked together on the Baltimore Ravens coaching staff. The list includes Indianapolis Head Coach Chuck Pagano (2008-10), Linebackers Coach Jeff FitzGerald (2005-07), Safeties Coach Roy Anderson (2005-11) and Offensive Coordinator Pep Hamilton (2002), as well as Cincinnati Defensive Backs Coach Mark Carrier (2006-09), Assistant Strength and Conditioning Coach Jeff Friday (1999-07) and Offensive Coordinator Hue Jackson (2008-09).
• Hamilton and Jackson spent the 2001 season together in Washington alongside Colts Defensive Coordinator Greg Manusky.
• In 2007, Jackson was the offensive coordinator in Atlanta when Colts Special Teams Coordinator Tom McMahon served as the Falcons assistant special teams coach.
• Colts Defensive Line coach Gary Emanuel (2005-06), Hamilton (2006) and Manusky (2007-10) worked with Bengals Defensive Backs coach Vance Joseph (defensive backs, 2005-10) on the San Francisco coaching staff.

Colts with Ohio connections

• Colts RB Daniel "Boom" Herron attended Ohio State from 2008-11, is a native of Warren, Ohio and also played for the Bengals in 2012 and on their practice squad for Weeks 1-4 in 2013.
• Colts G/T Jack Mewhort attended Ohio State from 2010-13 and is a native of Toledo, Ohio.
• Colts OLB Trent Cole attended University of Cincinnati from 2001-04 and is a native of Xenia, Ohio.
• Colts ILB Junior Sylvestre attended Toledo from 2011-14.
• Colts G Hugh Thornton is from Oberlin, Ohio.
• Colts WR Griff Whalen is from Sylvania, Ohio.
• Colts DE Jonathan Newsome is from Cleveland, Ohio.

Bengals with Indiana connections

• Bengals TE Tyler Eifert played football at Notre Dame (2009- 2012). Eifert is a native of Fort Wayne, IN, where he attended Bishop Dwenger High School.
• Bengals QB Keith Wenning spent the 2010-13 seasons at Ball State leading the Cardinals to bowls in each of his final three seasons.

College Connections

• Colts Offensive Line Coach Hal Hunter’s last season as the offensive line coach at North Carolina in 2005 coincided with Bengals WR-Brandon Tate’s first year with the Tar Heels.
• In 2007, Colts Wide Receivers Coach Charlie Williams began coaching the receiving corps at UNC, and Colts Head Coach Chuck Pagano took over as defensive coordinator for one season with the team. Williams was Bengals WR Greg Little’s (2007-09) position coach, and his last year at Carolina coincided with Bengals RB Giovani Bernard and C Russell Bodine’s first season in Chapel Hill in 2011.
• Colts Defensive Line Coach Gary Emanuel spent the 2008-09 seasons coaching in the same capacity at Rutgers and crossed paths with Cincinnati WR Mohamed Sanu (2009-11).
• A handful of Colts and Bengals players were teammates at Stanford who were all coached by Colts Offensive Coordinator Pep Hamilton (2010-12). The players include Colts QB Andrew Luck (2009-11), TE Coby Fleener (2008-11), WR Griff Whalen and Bengals HB Ryan Hewitt (2010-13).
• Indianapolis and Cincinnati have several players that played together at Alabama. Colts NT Josh Chapman (2007-11) was teammates with Bengals DE Wallace Gilberry (2003-07) for one season and OT Andre Smith (2006-08) for two seasons in Tuscaloosa. Chapman was later joined by Bengals CB Dre Kirkpatrick (2009-11) and QB A.J. McCarron (2009-13) on Alabama teams that were national champions in 2009 and 2011.
• Colts TE Dwayne Allen and Bengals DT Brandon Thompson were teammates at Clemson from 2009-11. Cincinnati DT-DeShawn Williams played with Allen and Thompson in 2011.
• Indianapolis OLB-Bjoern Werner and Cincinnati HB-James Wilder Jr. spent the 2011-12 seasons together at Florida State.
• Colts C Jonotthan Harrison (2009-13) and DE Earl Okine (2008-12) were teammates with Bengals DE Carlos Dunlap (2007-09) and CB Josh Shaw (2010-11) at Florida.
• Indianapolis C/G Khaled Holmes (2008-12) played with Shaw (2012-14) at USC during the 2012 season after Shaw transferred from Florida.
• Holmes’ redshirt season at USC in 2008 was Bengals LB Rey Maualuga’s (2005-08) final season with the Trojans.
• Colts Safeties Coach Roy Anderson was a graduate assistant in 2004 on the LSU coaching staff when Bengals OT Andrew Whitworth (2002-05) was on the team.
• Colts LB-Cam Johnson and Bengals HB Cedric Peerman played together at Virginia during the 2008 season.
• Indianapolis CB Deveron Carr (2008-12) was teammates with Cincinnati LB Vontaze Burfict (2009-11) for three seasons and DT Marcus Hardison (2011-14) for two seasons at Arizona State.
• Colts WR Quan Bray and Bengals TE C.J. Uzomah played together at Auburn from 2011-14. Bengals WR-Onterio McCalebb (2009-12) played his final two seasons in a Tigers uniform with Bray and Uzomah.
• Indianapolis OLB Jonathan Newsome (2012-13), G Kitt O’Brien (2009-12) and CB Eric Patterson (2011-14) all played at Ball State with Cincinnati QB Keith Wenning (2010-13).
• Colts CB Chance Casey and Bengals WR Tevin Reese were teammates at Baylor from 2010-12.
• Indianapolis ILB Amarlo Herrera (2011-14) spent time on the University of Georgia’s football team Cincinnati TE Michael Bennett (2010-14) and S-Shawn Williams (2009-12).
• Colts WR Andre Johnson (2000-02) and RB Frank Gore (2001-04) were teammates at Miami (Fla) with Bengals OT Eric Winston (2002-05). Colts Associate Head Coach Rob Chudzinski (2001-03) and Offensive Quality Control Coach Frank Giufre (2001-03) were both at Miami with Johnson, Gore and Winston. • Indianapolis DT Kelcy Quarles and Bengals C T.J. Johnson were teammates at South Carolina from 2011-12.
• Colts Outside Linebackers Coach Brad White was a defensive graduate assistant at Wake Forest from 2007-08 while Bengals CB-Brandon Ghee (2005-09) played for the Demon Deacons.
• Indianapolis DE Kendall Langford and Cincinnati Offensive Assistant/Quality Control Coach Brian Braswell were teammates at Hampton in 2004.

NFL Connections

• Bengals K Mike Nugent was with Colts Offensive Coordinator Pep Hamilton and Defensive Assistant Tim Berbenich for one season (2005) with the New York Jets.
• Colts OLB Erik Walden (2008) and CB Jalil Brown (2011-12) spent time in Kansas City with Bengals DE-Wallace Gilberry (2008-11).
• Walden was also teammates with Bengals LB A.J. Hawk in Green Bay for three seasons (2010-12).
• Indianapolis WR Andre Johnson (2003-14) was teammates in Houston with Cincinnati OT Eric Winston (2006-11), S Shiloh Keo (2011-13) and TE Clark Harris (2008).
• Colts ILB D’Qwell Jackson (2006-2013) and S Mike Adams (2007-2011) were teammates with Bengals WR Greg Little (2011-13) in Cleveland. Jackson and Little were joined by Colts Associate Head Coach Rob Chudzinski in 2013 when Chudzinski served as Cleveland’s head coach.
• Indianapolis CB Darius Butler spent two seasons (2009-2010) in New England with Bengals WR Brandon Tate.
• Indianapolis CB Chance Casey (2013-14) and Jalil Brown (2014) spent time with Bengals DT Pat Sims (2013-14) in Oakland.
• Indianapolis S Dwight Lowery was a member of the New York Jets with Nugent in 2008.
• In 2005, while Nugent was in his first season with the Jets, Colts Offensive Coordinator Pep Hamilton (2004-05) and Defensive Assistant Tim Berbenich (2005) were on the Jets coaching staff.
• Colts Tight Ends Coach Alfredo Roberts and Berbenich were on the Tampa Bay coaching staff in 2009 when Nugent was on the team.
• Indianapolis CB-Greg Toler and Nugent were teammates during the 2009 season in Arizona.