As you sit down and watch football over the holidays, take a look at this list below compiled by The Army Times which shows the deep links between the NFL and those who serve our country. Additions are welcome.
PLAYER/COACH |
TEAM |
MILITARY TIE |
| DB Phillip Adams | San Francisco | Father served in the Army |
| DE Jared Allen | Minnesota | Grandfather, Ray, served in the Marines and his brother, Scot, recently graduated from Marine Corps boot camp |
| G/C Eugene Amano | Tennessee | Father served in the Navy for 25 years |
| T Shawn Andrews | Free agent | Brother, Derrick, who is a sergeant in the army and recently finished a term in Kuwait |
| G/T Stacey Andrews | Philadelphia | Brother, Derrick, who is a sergeant in the army and recently finished a term in Kuwait |
| DE Kentwan Balmer | San Francisco | Cousin is in the Marines |
| LB Tully Banta-Cain | New England | Father, Adam, played football for the Naval Academy |
| WR Hank Baskett | Philadelphia | Father spent over 30 years in the Air Force; mother served as CFO at Clovis Air Force Base, N.M.; brother served in the Army for over 10 years |
| WR Bernard Berrian | Minnesota | Parents, Sallie and Joseph, are retired Air Force mechanics |
| DT Ryan Boschetti | Oakland | Grandfather served in World War II |
| DB Zack Bowman | Chicago | Father, Zackary, is a Master Sergeant in the Air Force |
| QB Drew Brees | New Orleans | Grandfather served in World War II |
| WR Kenny Britt | Tennessee | Sister, Specialist Laura Johnson serves at Victory Base Camp in Iraq |
| S C.C. Brown | Detroit | Currently in the National Guard; unit is prepared for Afghanistan if needed |
| T Jammal Brown | Washington | Father, Charles, is retired from the Army |
| C Jason Brown | St. Louis | Brother, Lunsford, served in Iraq and was killed in 2003 |
| OL Kyle Calloway | Buffalo | Father, Ed, and mother, Nancy, served in the Air Force. Both of his grandfathers served in the Army. Brother, Kevin, serves in the Air Force, stationed in Bahrain |
| LB Caleb Campbell | Detroit | Served in the Army |
| QB David Carr | San Francisco | Grandfather served in the Air Force; Brother-in-law is in the Marines |
| CB Nolan Carroll | Miami | Father, Nolan, Sr., was a senior master Air Force sergeant. Mother, Jennifer, was a Navy Lieutenant Commander |
| Former head coach Brad Childress | Minnesota | Son, Andrew, is in the Marines, currently deployed in Afghanistan; Father was in the Army, stationed in Germany |
| LB Danny Clark | Houston | Has twin brothers in the armed forces – Jason (Air Force) and Joshua (Marines) |
| RB Thomas Clayton | New England | Father was a Sergeant First Class in the Army for 25 years |
| CB Nate Clements | San Francisco | Father served in the Army |
| Defensive coordinator Gunther Cunningham | Detroit | Father was a sergeant in the Air Force |
| T Anthony Davis | San Francisco | Grandfather served in the Army |
| DE Rulon Davis | Free agent | Served four years in the Marines, including a six-month tour in Iraq |
| OL Evan Dietrich-Smith | Green Bay | Brother, Alex, is a Specialist-Team Leader in 10th Mountain Division of the Army |
| General manager Mark Dominik | Tampa Bay | Father Glenn was in the Navy; Brother, Todd, was in the Navy; Grandfather, Edward was in the Army during WWII |
| QB Trent Edwards | Buffalo | Father, Andy, flew reconnaissance missions during Vietnam War; Maternal grandfather was awarded Navy Cross for Valor during bombing of Pearl Harbor |
| DE Chris Ellis | Buffalo | Father and mother served in the Army and Navy, respectively |
| DE Demetric Evans | San Francisco | Has cousins in both the Army and Navy |
| FB Jerome Felton | Detroit | Brother, Simon, is in the Army and currently serving in Afghanistan |
| CB Cortland Finnegan | Tennessee | Mother served 20 years in the Army |
| WR Larry Fitzgerald | Arizona | Attended Valley Forge (PA) Military Academy after high school; his grandfather was a Lieutenant in the Army who won a purple heart for his service in Korea; aunt and uncle, Paul and Sam Jones, are both Lieutenant Colonels in the Army. |
| CB Drayton Florence | Buffalo | Father, Drayton, Sr. is a retired Army medic; sister, Lakisha, is currently serving in the Army |
| Head coach John Fox | Carolina | Father was a member of one of the original Navy SEAL teams created by President John F. Kennedy in the early 1960s |
| C Hank Fraley | St. Louis | Brother was stationed with the Army in Iraq; father is a Vietnam veteran |
| Head coach Chan Gailey | Buffalo | Father, Tom, was in the Marines |
| K Graham Gano | Washington | Has two brothers in the Navy and Father was in the Marines |
| K Shayne Graham | Baltimore | Father served in the Army in Vietnam |
| Linebackers coach Kevin Greene | Green Bay | Served as a captain for 16 years in the Army Reserve during the offseasons when he was an NFL player |
| S Cedric Griffin | Minnesota | Mother served in the Navy; father served in the Air Force |
| S Michael Griffin | Tennessee | Mother served in the Navy; father served in the Air Force |
| FB Ahmard Hall | Tennessee | Served four years in the Marines (3rd Battalion, 8th Marines out of Camp Lejeune, NC), including missions in Kosovo (1999) and Afghanistan (2002) |
| WR Chad Hall | Philadelphia | Attended the Air Force Academy and was a second lieutenant at Hill Air Force Base in Salt Lake City, UT |
| LB Parys Haralson | San Francisco | Grandfather served in the Army |
| LB Adam Hayward | Tampa Bay | Brother and sister served in the Army and cousin was in the Marine Corps. |
| CB Ellis Hobbs | Philadelphia | Father, Ellis Hobbs, Jr., served for over 30 years and graduated as a Sergeant Major before retiring from the military |
| DE Jason Hunter | Detroit | Father, James, served 25 years in the 82nd Airborne Division in the Armed Forces |
| G Mike Iupati | San Francisco | Brother-in-law is currently serving in the Army |
| RB Steven Jackson | St. Louis | Father served in the Marines |
| WR Vincent Jackson | San Diego | Father, Terrence, was an Army medic |
| LB Dhani Jones | Cincinnati | Both parents served in the military |
| Special teams assistant Ben Kotwica | New York Jets | Served in the Army as an Apache helicopter pilot in Iraq |
| LB Manny Lawson | San Francisco | Father, Donald, served in the Air Force |
| Head coach Marvin Lewis | Cincinnati | Father was in the Army, was stationed in Germany |
| LB Ben Leber | Minnesota | Father, Al, was stationed in Korea with the Army when he met Ben’s mother, Han |
| T Phil Loadholt | Minnesota | Father was a Sergeant First Class in the Army |
| Head coach Eric Mangini | Cleveland | Father served in the Navy |
| Assistant head coach / defensive line coach Rod Marinelli | Chicago | Served a one-year tour of duty in Vietnam |
| QB Ingle Martin | Kansas City | Uncle, Chris, is a Lieutenant Commander and pilot for the Navy |
| C Kevin Mawae | Free agent | Father served in the Army for 23 years, including two tours in Vietnam |
| FB Jason McKie | New Orleans | Father spent 23 years in the Air Force |
| T Marcus McNeill | San Diego | Mother, Leola, is a Colonel in the Air Force, stationed at Dobbins AFB inMarietta, GA |
| T Pat McQuistan | Dallas | Brother is in the Air Force |
| DT Roy Miller | Tampa Bay | Father and cousin served in the Army |
| DE/DT Kyle Moore | Tampa Bay | Father, Joseph, served in the Army for 22 years. |
| RB Sammy Morris | New England | Father, Sammy, was an Air Force Staff Sergeant; brother, Brien, serves in the Air Force |
| DE CJ Mosley | Cleveland | Father, Calvin Mosley Sr., is a retired First Master Sergeant with the United States Army |
| G Jamar Nesbit | Free agent | Father, Ronald, works for the Army Corps of Engineers |
| DE Igor Olshansky | Dallas | Father was in the Russian Army; grandfather fought for the Russian Red Army in World War II |
| DT Mike Patterson | Philadelphia | Uncle was a sergeant at Los Alamitos Army Base |
| TE Justin Peelle | Atlanta | Grandfather is a retired Navy captain |
| Special teams coordinator Mike Priefer | Denver | Served in the Navy (1991-94) as a helicopter pilot and was stationed in the Persian Gulf |
| DE Melila Purcell | Free agent | Father is an active reservist in the Army |
| WR Josh Reed | Buffalo | Brother (Army) and cousin (Navy) recently served in Iraq |
| G Tyler Reed | Free agent | Father, Gary, played football for the Naval Academy from 1971-75 |
| Head coach Andy Reid | Philadelphia | Father served in the Navy in World War II |
| FB Tony Richardson | N.Y. Jets | Father was a Sergeant Major in the Army; sister, part of Desert Storm, is serving in the Army at Fort Bragg, NC |
| Defensive coordinatorRon Rivera | San Diego | Father was an Army officer; Ron lived in three countries as a child |
| S Mark Roman | Free agent | Five of his six brothers served in the Army |
| CB Lydell Sargeant | Buffalo | Father, Drew, served in the Air Force for more than 20 years |
| LB Cody Spencer | Free agent | Brother serves in the Army, currently stationed in Iraq |
| T Joe Staley | San Francisco | Grandfather was in the Navy during the Korean War; uncle was in the Navy |
| DT Randy Starks | Miami | Father served in the Army for over 20 years, mostly in Germany |
| TE Tony Stewart | Oakland | Father, Malcolm, was in the Army and stationed in Germany when Tony was born |
| Quarterbacks coach Mike Sullivan | N.Y. Giants | Graduate of Army Airborne, Ranger and Air Assault schools |
| CB Charles Tillman | Chicago | Father was an Army sergeant; Charles attended 11 schools in 13 years |
| LB Pat Thomas | Free agent | Father was a Chief Petty Officer in the Navy |
| DE Dave Tollefson | N.Y. Giants | Brother is a Marine |
| Head coach Norv Turner | San Diego | Father served in the Marines |
| K Lawrence Tynes | N.Y. Giants | Father served in the Navy as a Master Chief |
| LB DeMarcus Ware | Dallas | Wife, Taniqua, served in the Air Force |
| Defensive line coach Mike Waufle | Oakland | Served in the Marine Corps from 1972-1975 |
| DE Mario Williams | Houston | Brother-in-law served in the Army and was killed in Iraq |
| WR Troy Williamson | Jacksonville | Brother is a career Marine, who just returned from Iraq; sister serves in the Navy |
| LB Patrick Willis | San Francisco | Father was in the National Guard |
| Owner/president Ralph Wilson Jr. | Buffalo | Navy veteran, served in WWII |
| LB Will Witherspoon | Tennessee | Father was in the Air Force |
| DB Dexter Wynn | Free agent | Mother is a retired Air Force civil engineer who served in the Gulf War |