It's a homecoming or reunion for several Seahawks players and staff as the team heads to New Orleans. Let's take a look at the players and staff with ties to the Louisiana area in advance of the Week 5 matchup against the Saints.
Al Woods: Back at Home In The Bayou
Seahawks elder statesman, defensive tackle Al Woods, is currently on his third tour with Seattle, and is headed home to play in Louisiana for the first time in nearly a decade. Woods has played in New Orleans at the Superdome twice in his career - once as a rookie with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and in 2015 with the Tennessee Titans. The anchor in the middle of Seattle's defensive line from Elton, Louisiana starred for LSU in Baton Rouge before being selected by the New Orleans Saints in the fourth round of the 2010 NFL Draft. But Woods was released that September before ever playing a game for the team three hours from home.
Woods has played for four other teams, but carved his niche here in Seattle over time. In 2021, then 34-year-old Woods recorded a career-high 50 tackles along with 4 tackles for loss and 1.5 sacks.Â
This game brings Woods back to the Superdome and to his family and friends, but unfortunately Woods won't have much time for tending to his cattle. The full-time run stopper and pass rusher for Seattle finds time to balance being a husband and father with being a cattle rancher on his family farm.
Surely Woods would love to record his first sack of the season in front of the people that matter most to him.
Bayou Brothers: Seahawks LSU Alum
In addition to Woods, the Seahawks roster sports two other LSU Tigers that played in nearby Baton Rouge in college. While he may be sidelined for the season due to injury, Seahawks safety Jamal Adams is very familiar with the area, as is guard Damien Lewis. Both Adams and Lewis are Tiger alums, but aren't from the state. Adams is from Texas; Lewis was raised primarily in Mississippi.Â
Carl Smith: Fear and Loathing in New Orleans
Seahawks assistant head coach Carl Smith has more than 40 years of coaching experience from college to the pros. The former Cal Poly San Luis Obispo defensive back and longtime friend of head coach Pete Carroll got his first opportunity in professional sports with the New Orleans Saints in 1986. For the next decade, Smith would serve as offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach in the Crescent City. Aside from a brief spell with the Houston Texans, Smith has spent the majority of the last decade with Seattle, elevating from QB coach to associate head coach in 2018. Smith now gets to return to what he formerly known as the Louisiana Superdome in his time.
Chad Morton: The Pick Is in
With the 166th pick in the 2000 NFL Draft, the Saints selected USC running back Chad Morton. Morton became of the first rookie backs in team history to get significant playing time as both a back and a kick returner. During the 2000 NFC Division Playoffs against the Minnesota Vikings, Morton set a then-rookie record for receptions in a game with 13.
Morton would spend his remaining time in the league with different teams before joining Green Bay as a coaching administrator in 2009, eventually earning a Super Bowl ring with the Packers as an assistant special teams coach. Morton would join the Seahawks staff in 2014 as a special teams assistant, before moving to running backs coach the following year.
The Seahawks face the Saints for Week 5 of the 2022 season at the Caesars Superdome in New Orleans. Take a look back at photos from the past games between the two teams.
Kicker Garo Yepremian (1) of the New Orleans Saints attempts a field goal in 1979. (AP Photo / Al Messerschmidt)
New Orleans Saints wide receiver Floyd Turner (88) begins the celebration after catching the winning touchdown in the Saints Seattle Seahawks game on Sunday, Sept. 3, 1991 in New Orleans. Looking on is Seahawks James Jefferson (26). Turner took the pass from quarterback Bobby Hebert late the fourth quarter to give the Saints a 27-24 victory. (AP Photo/Paul Sancya)
New Orleans Saints cornerback Eric Allen (21) stops Seattle Seahawks wide receiver Joey Galloway (84) during NFL action Sunday Nov. 16, 1997 in New Orleans. Galloway took a pass from quarterback Warren Moon, making a first down on the play. (AP Photo/Bill Haber)
Seahawks' quarterback Matt Hasselbeck is sacked by Saints' defenders Charles Grant (94) and Willie Whitehead (98) during the second quarter on Sunday, Sept. 7, 2003, at Seahawks' Stadium. Even through being sacked, Hasselbeck completed 12 of 23 passes for 137 yards and two touchdowns, leading the Seahawks over the Saints, 27-10. (AP Photo/Jim Bryant)
Seattle Seahawks quarterback Matt Hasselbeck (8) throws against the New Orleans Saints Sunday, Sept. 12, 2004, in New Orleans as guard Steve Hutchinson (76) blocks Saints linebacker Roger Knight. Hasselbeck completed 19 of 29 passes for 246 yards and one touchdown in Seattle's 21-7 win. (AP Photo/Travis Spradling)
New Orleans Saints' Tebucky Jones (34), right, grabs the face mask of Seattle Seahawks receiver Darrell Jackson (82) on a pass play during the second quarter at the Superdome Sunday, Sept. 12, 2004, in New Orleans. Jackson picked up 22 yards on the reception and the Seahawks picked up 11 yards more on the penalty to help set up their second touchdown of the quarter. (AP Photo/Bill Feig)
New Orleans Saints' Reggie Bush (25) is tackled by Seattle Seahawks' Brian Russell during the first quarter of their NFL football game in Seattle, Sunday, Oct. 14, 2007. (AP Photo/John Froschauer)
RETRANSMISSION FOR ALTERNATE CROP OF SEA163 Seattle Seahawks' Marshawn Lynch (24) breaks away from a tackle by the New Orleans Saints defenders to score a touchdown in the second half of an NFL NFC wild card playoff football game, Saturday, Jan. 8, 2011, in Seattle. (AP Photo/Elaine Thompson)
FILE - In this Dec. 2, 2013, file photo, Seattle Seahawks defensive end Cliff Avril hits the arm of New Orleans Saints quarterback Drew Brees causing a fumble that was returned for a touchdown by Seahawks defensive end Michael Bennett in the first half of an NFL football game in Seattle. The Seahawks finished the regular season as the best pass defense in the NFL with three All-Pro selections in the secondary. Their best performance came when they suffocated New Orleans in Week 13. Now comes the challenge of duplicating that in Saturday's NFC divisional playoff game against the Saints. (AP Photo/Scott Eklund, File)
Seattle Seahawks safety Kam Chancellor (31) stops New Orleans running back Khiry Robinson (29) during an NFL Divisional Playoff game on January 11, 2014. The Seahawks defeated the Saints 23-15 in the NFC Divisional Playoff Game. (AP Photo/Kevin Terrell)
Seattle Seahawks wide receiver Jermaine Kearse (15) leaps for a pass just outside the end zone as New Orleans Saints cornerback B.W. Webb (28) covers as time expires in the second half of an NFL football game in New Orleans, Sunday, Oct. 30, 2016. Kearse came down out of bounds and the Saints won 25-20. (AP Photo/Butch Dill)
Seattle Seahawks defensive group tackles New Orleans Saints running back Alvin Kamara (41) during an NFL regular season football game on Sunday, Sep. 22, 2019 in Seattle. The Saints won, 33-27. (Ric Tapia via AP)
