The National Football League playoffs kick off on Saturday, with the 14 remaining franchises vying to hoist the Lombardi Trophy in New Orleans, La. on February 9.
The slate is loaded with superstars: Patrick Mahomes, Lamar Jackson, Josh Allen, Saquon Barkley and T.J. Watt, just to name a few. But for Canadian football fans, the quest to find a team once your favourite has been eliminated often comes down to a more personal connection.
In the tiny world of professional football, virtually everyone on an NFL roster will have a friend, family member or former teammate who has spent time in the CFL. However, only a small number of people vying for Super Bowl LIX have actually played or coached in Canada.
Here is every player, coach, and player personnel executive in the 2025 NFL playoffs with direct experience in the great white North.
7. Denver Broncos (10-7)
Unfortunately for CFL fans, their favourite native son won’t be on the field for the Broncos in the postseason. Stalwart Canadian linebacker and former Most Outstanding Defensive Player, Alex Singleton, suffered a torn ACL in September and remains on injured reserve, though he is still in the running to be the NFL’s Walter Payton Man of the Year. Practice roster tight end Thomas Yassmin is the only other player with a CFL connection, as the Aussie was a second-round pick in the 2024 Global Draft by Hamilton.
Luckily, there are lots of familiar faces on the sideline, led by head coach Sean Payton who famously had a brief foray as a quarterback with the Ottawa Rough Riders in 1987. Offensive quality control coach Logan Kilgore also spent parts of four seasons slinging the rock with Toronto (2015-17), Hamilton (2017), and Edmonton (2019), and was briefly teammates with assistant strength & conditioning coach Korey Jones, who played five seasons as a linebacker with the Elks (2015, 2017-19), Riders (2016), and Bombers (2019). Passing game coordinator John Morton also played wide receiver for Toronto in 1995 and 1996.
7. Green Bay Packers (11-6)
Nearly 40 years after he won Most Outstanding Player with the Winnipeg Blue Bombers, Canadian Football Hall of Fame quarterback Tom Clements is still active in the NFL and serves as QB coach for Jordan Love. Player personnel executive Lee Gissendaner was a receiver with the Argos in 1995, while director of college scouting Matt Malaspina spent parts of two seasons as a centre with the Shreveport Pirates.
Other connections around the Packers include Toronto-born chief of staff Darryl Franklin and offensive quality control coach Rob Grosso, who used to scout for the Saskatchewan Roughriders. Coaching assistant Myles White also had short stints as a receiver with Winnipeg (2017-18) and Toronto (2018).
6. Pittsburgh Steelers (10-7)
You can thank the CFL Global program for all of Pittsburgh’s player connections to Canada, as British safety Ayo Oyelola currently resides on the team’s practice roster after playing one game for Winnipeg in 2021. The Edmonton Elks also own the rights to the Steelers’ Belgian punter, Corliss Waitman, after drafting him in 2022, while Calgary selected practice roster edge rusher Julius Welschof out of Germany last year.
Offensive line coach Pat Meyer held the same role with the Montreal Alouettes in 2012, while QB coach Tom Arth signed with the Argonauts in 2007. Offensive coordinator Eddie Faulkner was in training camp with Edmonton in 2002 and defensive coordinator Teryl Austin had a cup of coffee with Hamilton after playing for the WLAF’s Montreal Machine.
6. Washington Commanders (12-5)
Montreal native Benjamin St-Juste has turned into a very solid player at cornerback for the Commanders, making 14 starts and setting a new career-high with 71 tackles plus seven pass deflections and a forced fumble. Washington also has former Stampeders right tackle Julian Good-Jones waiting on their practice roster.
Offensive coordinator Kliff Kingsbury has received plenty of credit for the team’s miraculous turnaround, which CFL fans will trace back to his time as a backup QB with Montreal and Winnipeg in 2007. College scout Paul Skansi also played receiver for Ottawa in 1992.
5. Los Angeles Chargers (11-6)
If you were a fan of the Montreal Alouettes in the late 2000s and early 2010s, the Chargers are the team for you! Three-time Grey Cup-winning head coach Marc Trestman is on staff as a senior offensive assistant, while former CFL quarterback and coach Marcus Brady serves as the passing game coordinator for QB Justin Herbert after cutting his teeth with the Als and Argos. Run game coordinator and tight ends coach Andy Bischoff also called La Belle Province home from 2008 to 2012 while coaching running backs and special teams.
Brampton, Ont. native Josh Palmer remains a consistent part of that staff’s offensive philosophy, hauling in 39 passes for 584 yards and a touchdown from his wide receiver spot this year. Cornerback Deane Leonard of Calgary, Alta. is a consistent contributor on special teams with eight tackles in 10 games.
5. Minnesota Vikings (14-3)
Quarterback Brett Rypien leads a trio of tenuous Canadian connections on the Vikings practice roster, as the nephew of Calgary-born Super Bowl winner Mark Rypien is entitled to citizenship north of the border. Receiver Lucky Jackson had a brief foray with the Edmonton Elks in 2022, while Chilean tight end Sammis Reyes was selected by Toronto in the 2021 CFL Global Draft.
Defensive line coach Marcus Dixon wrapped up his playing career with the B.C. Lions in 2014, DB coach and passing game coordinator Daronte Jones held a similar role with Montreal in 2011, and defensive assistant Imarjaye Albury’s first pro gig was as training camp guest coach with the Ticats in 2019. Up in the front office, senior vice-president of player personnel Ryan Grigson played for the Argonauts in 1997 and began his career in football ops as a pro scout for Saskatchewan the following season.
4. Houston Texans (10-7)
After battling Leukemia as a rookie, receiver John Metchie III from Brampton, Ont. is finally starting to carve out a role for himself in the Texans’ offence and has caught 24 passes for 254 yards and a touchdown this year. He isn’t the only Canadian in the receiving corps either, as Peterborough, Ont.’s Jared Wayne has dressed for three games while spending most of his time on the practice roster. German offensive lineman Kilian Zierer is also on PR, though his CFL rights have been held by Edmonton since 2023.
On the sideline, former CFL quarterback and Saskatchewan Roughriders head coach Danny Barrett remains the team’s running backs coach while adding assistant head coach responsibilities under Demeco Ryans. Quarterbacks coach Jerrod Johnson had a stop with Montreal in 2014 before overseeing C.J. Stroud’s arrival this year and assistant defensive line coach Rod Wright played for the Riders in 2010 and 2011. Vaunted offensive coordinator Bobby Slowik is also the son of the Calgary Stampeders’ new defensive coordinator, Bob Slowik.
4. Los Angeles Rams (10-7)
The Rams have three impactful Canadians on their active roster, led by starting left tackle and Windsor, Ont. native Alaric ‘A.J.’ Jackson. Oakville, Ont.’s Michael Hoecht also continues to put up numbers at outside linebacker, notching 56 tackles, four tackles for loss, and three sacks this year, while Ottawa’s Neville Gallimore has made 19 tackles at nose tackle.
Former Hamilton Tiger-Cat and Toronto native Nikola Kalinic has also dressed for a pair of games at tight end but has primarily stayed on the practice roster. British defensive lineman David Olajiga is also there after being drafted by the Edmonton Elks last year. Meanwhile, Calgarian Daniel Dmytrisin serves as the team’s senior video director after starting in football with his hometown Stampeders.
3. Baltimore Ravens (12-5)
The pride of Guelph, Ont., Tavius Robinson continues to improve as a presence off the edge for the Ravens and has made 32 tackles, four tackles for loss, and 3.5 sacks in 2024. His defensive line teammate, Brent Urban, continues to distinguish himself as the elder statesman of Canadian NFLers, posting 20 tackles in his 11th season since bidding adieu to Mississauga.
Quarterbacks coach Tee Martin famously played two seasons with the Bombers in 2004 and 2005, while O.J. Brigance still retains his title of senior advisor for player engagement and will go down in history as the only player to win a Grey Cup and a Super Bowl in the same city. Former offensive line coach Joe D’Alessandris, who had two brief CFL stints, tragically passed away in training camp.
3. Tampa Bay Buccaneers (10-7)
The Bucs are light on CFL experience, but Shelton Quarles turned two seasons with the B.C. Lions into a Pro Bowl stint with Tampa Bay as a linebacker, before jumping to the front office. He is now employed as the franchise’s director of football operations.
Only one other person on staff boasts CFL experience, as defensive line coach and run game coordinator Kacy Rodgers suited up for the Shreveport Pirates in 1994.
2. Buffalo Bills (13-4)
The Bills have a rabid following in Southern Ontario and will continue to hype up Dalton Kincaid’s dual citizenship as a result, as the second-year tight end has 44 catches this year for 448 yards and two touchdowns this season. Safety Taylor Rapp is also entitled to Canadian citizenship through his parentage, while veteran defensive tackle Eli Ankou is the real deal as a native of Ottawa and a member of the Dokis First Nation. He continues to stick around the practice roster, as does Montreal’s first-overall pick in the 2022 CFL Global Draft, Kingsley Jonathan.
The entire Bills roster has an influence from north of the border, as University of Guelph graduate and former Argonauts scout Curtis Rukavina serves as co-director of pro scouting with Chris Marrow, who previously worked for the B.C. Lions. Former Argonauts assistant GM Vince Magri was hired as a pro scout this season. Assistant defensive line coach Marcus West spent time playing for Hamilton in 2007, senior personnel advisor Malik Boyd was with the Lions in 1997, and cornerback coach Jahmil Addae is the cousin of Redblacks’ safety Alonzo Addae — though he comes from the American side of the family.
2. Philadelphia Eagles (14-3)
London, Ont. native Sydney Brown has appeared in 11 games this year after rushing back from a torn ACL but has been coming on strong lately, recording an interception in the Eagles’ regular-season finale. The athletic safety has notched eight tackles and a forced fumble while making a major impact on special teams.
Quarterback Jalen Hurts is also in good hands with his position coach, Doug Nussmeier, who played for the B.C. Lions in 2000 and got his start coaching with the team the next season. He also spent time with the Ottawa Renegades in 2002.
1. Kansas City Chiefs (15-2)
Tim Terry didn’t spend long with the Hamilton Tiger-Cats in 1999 but he was able to take home a Grey Cup ring for his troubles. It is crazy to think that the Chiefs’ director of player personnel and pro scouting has now won four Super Bowl rings — three in KC and one in Green Bay — before that CFL franchise could capture another championship.
In addition to Terry’s brief CFL stint, assistant special teams coach Andy Hill also spent training camp with the Stampeders in 1996.
1. Detroit Lions (15-2)
The Lions traded up in the 2024 NFL Draft to select freakish offensive lineman Giovanni Manu out of the University of British Columbia with a fourth-round pick. The six-foot-eight, 354-pound product of Pitt Meadows, B.C. has yet to dress for an NFL regular season game as a rookie but oozes potential in the long term.
And if you ever wondered what happened to Ohio State quarterback J.T. Barrett after he was forced to retire from the Edmonton Elks without ever taking a snap, he landed on his feet as the assistant quarterbacks coach with the Lions.
