View photos of players and coaches who have suited up for both the Minnesota Vikings and the Seattle Seahawks.
Pete Carroll coached defensive backs for the Minnesota Vikings for 5 seasons (1985-89) under Bud Grant and Jerry Burns before being named defensive coordinator for the New York Jets.
Seahawks Head Coach Pete Carroll coached in the Pro Bowl as a member of the Minnesota Vikings staff following the 1987 season.
Carroll is the current head coach of the Seahawks and has led his team to back-to-back Super Bowl appearances, including winning Super Bowl XLVIII.
Seven-time All-Pro guard Steve Hutchinson was a 1st-round draft pick by the Seattle Seahawks in 2001 (17th overall).
Hutchinson signed with the Vikings in 2006 after a controversial contract situation between the Vikings and Seahawks. Hutchinson started 89 games in his 6 seasons in Minnesota and was named as one of the 50 Greatest Vikings.
In 1976, former 1st-round pick Ahmad Rashad went to Training Camp with Seattle in their expansion season but was traded to the Vikings days before the regular season started.
Darrell Bevell received his first offensive coordinator job with the Vikings in 2006. He remained with the club through 2010, a year guiding Brett Favre and the 5th-ranked Vikings offense in 2009.
Bevell took over as the Seahawks offensive coordinator in 2011, where he has served the past 5 seasons. Bevell's offense had the top-ranked rushing attack in the NFL in 2014.
Minnesota native John Carlson was drafted by the Seahawks in the 2nd round of 2008. Carlson scored 13 touchdowns in 3 seasons with the Seahawks, sitting out 2011 due to an injury.
Carlson signed with the Vikings as a free agent in 2012, spending 2 seasons with the club. Carlson retired prior to the start of the 2015 season.
Coleman signed with the Vikings as an undrafted free agent in 2012, becoming the first deaf player in the NFL. Coleman went to training camp with the Vikings before being released during roster cuts.
Coleman signed with the Seahawks in December of 2012 where he has remained on their roster. Coleman has 2 career NFL touchdowns, both receiving.
Pro Football Hall of Famer Eller was a 1st-round pick by the Vikings in 1964. Eller was a member of the historic Purple People Eaters before spending the final season in Seattle.
Heath Farwell signed with the Vikings as an undrafted free agent in 2005. He spent 6 seasons with the club, playing primarily on special teams.
Farwell signed with the Seahawks as a free agent following his time in Minnesota. Farwell was a key special teams player on the club's Super Bowl win following the 2013 season.
After a stop in Tennessee, Gray serves in the same role with the Vikings leading Minnesota's secondary.
Jerry Gray served as the Seahawks defensive backs coach during the 2010 season during their 7-9 campaign,
The Vikings selected Percy Harvin with the 22nd pick in 2009. In his first season in Minnesota, Harvin was named NFL Offensive Player of the Year.
Percy Harvin was traded to Seattle during the 2013 offseason. Harvin spent the entire 2013 season and part of the 2014 season with the Seahawks.
Hauschka's first NFL stint came as an undrafted free agent with the Vikings in 2008. Hauschka spent training camp and the preseason with the Vikings before being waived during roster cuts.
After multiple stints around the NFL, Hauschka landed in Seattle in 2011. In 2013, the Pro Football Writers Association named Hauschka to their All-Pro team.
Defensive lineman Bob Lurtsema spent 5 seasons with the Vikings, helping them to two Super Bowl appearances.
Lurtsema was traded to the Seahawks in exchange for WR Ahmad Rashad and spent 2 seasons in Seattle. A welcome back ceremony was held for Lurtsema in his first game back in Minnesota.
After a long stint with the Houston Oilers, Hall of Fame QB Warren Moon joined the Vikings in 1994. Spending three seasons in Minnesota, Moon was selected to the Pro Bowl in 1994 and 1995.
After being released by the Vikings, Moon signed as a free agent with the Seahawks where he played in 1997 and 1998.
Patera coached the Vikings' Purple People Eaters for six seasons and helped lead the team to 3 Super Bowl appearances. Patera coached Hall of Famers Carl Eller and Alan Page.
Following his success with the Vikings, Patera was named the first head coach in the history of the Seattle Seahawks. Patera served as Seattle's head coach until the middle of the 1982 season.
Pro Football Hall of Fame DT John Randle played the first 11 seasons of his career with the Vikings. Randle recorded 10-plus sacks in each of his final eight seasons in Minnesota.
Following his time with the Vikings, Randle signed with the Seahawks where he spent the final 3 seasons of his career. Randle earned Pro Bowl honors in Seattle in 2001.
Rice entered the NFL with the Vikings the same year as RB Adrian Peterson in 2007. In four seasons in Minnesota, Rice hauled in 22 touchdowns.
Rice signed with the Seahawks in 2011 where he spent the final 3 seasons of his career. Rice tore his ACL in the middle of the 2013 season, the year Seattle won the Super Bowl.
Tice played for the Vikings for 3 seasons before joining the coaching staff. In 2002, Tice was named the team's head coach after being the interim for one game in 2001.
Mike Tice was signed by Seattle as an undrafted free agent in 1981. Tice spent 10 total seasons with the Seahawks in two stints.
Tarvaris Jackson was selected by the Vikings in the 2nd round of the 2006 NFL Draft. Jackson started 20 games in his 5 seasons in purple.
Following his time with the Vikings, Jackson has had two stints with Seattle. After spending the 2011 season with the Seahawks, he returned in 2013 where he played since.
Williams signed with the Seahawks prior to the 2014 season. In 2014, Williams recorded 3.0 sacks and helped guide Seattle to a Super Bowl appearance.
The Vikings selected DT Kevin Williams out of Oklahoma State in the 1st round of the 2003 NFL Draft. Williams spent 11 seasons with the Vikings and recorded 60.0 sacks.
Blair Walsh made 133 field goals in five seasons as a Minnesota Viking.
The Seahawks signed former Vikings K Blair Walsh during the 2018 offseason.
Defensive tackle Shamar Stephen was a core member of the Vikings interior defensive line for four seasons after being drafted by the team in 2014.
Former Vikings defensive tackle Shamar Stephen joined the Seahawks during the 2018 offseason as a free agent. (AP Photo/Rick Scuteri)
Defensive tackle Tom Johnson returned to the Vikings during the 2018 season after spending the offseason and a few games with the Seahawks to begin the season.
Defensive tackle Sheldon Richardson spent one season with the Seahawks in 2017 after being trade to Seattle from the New York Jets. (AP Photo/Phelan M. Ebenhack)
Vikings defensive tackle Sheldon Richardson joined the team as a free agent during the 2018 offseason. (AP Photo/Bruce Kluckhohn, File)
When the Vikings and Seahawks meet at noon (CT) Sunday it will mark the 15th time the Vikings and Seahawks have played each other since the Seattle franchise was founded on June 4, 1974 (playing its first game in 1976). The two clubs have been intertwined throughout their history since Seattle's inaugural season.
Seattle's first head coach was Jack Patera, who served as the Vikings defensive line coach from 1969-75, under legendary coach Bud Grant. Bob Lurtsema, another household name in Minnesota, was traded to the Seahawks in their debut year for wide receiver Ahmad Rashad and a fourth-round draft pick. Affectionately nicknamed "Benchwarmer Bob" by Vikings fans, Lurtsema went on to start 25 games for Seattle during the 1976 and 1977 seasons.
"It was exciting to be a part of something like that," Lurtsema said of his role in the team's start.
When Lurtsema returned to Met Stadium with the Seahawks on Nov. 14, 1976, he received a warm welcome from Vikings fans.
"There's nothing like it in sports when you come back to play against your old team," Lurtsema said. "It's so much fun to go against your old buddies and see those familiar faces."
Patera's squad — which included rookie standout Jim Zorn and future Hall of Famer Steve Largent — won two games that first year. As the Seahawks success gradually grew through the years, so did the link between the Minnesota and Seattle franchises. Players shuffled between rosters, East and West across the Interstate 90 corridor.
The list is extensive. From a 1979 trade that sent Purple People Eater Carl Eller to Seattle for his final season, to Percy Harvin donning the green and blue in 2013, to former Vikings quarterback Tarvaris Jackson returning to Minnesota on Sunday, 40 years of personnel exchanges exist between the teams.
One of the most highly-charged player moves came in 2006 when perennial All-Pro guard Steve Hutchinson came to the Vikings via the now-infamous "Poison Pill" offer sheet as a transition-tag player. The Vikings acquired their coveted lineman and did not have to give compensation to Seattle. Following Seattle's similar move with Vikings WR Nate Burleson, the NFL intervened and banned the practice.
Hutch's rugged presence on the offensive line helped the Vikings win consecutive NFC North titles in 2008 and 2009 and advance to the 2009 NFC title game. Hutchinson was All-Pro in 2006, '07, '08 and '09 with the Vikings, going along with the 3 straight he earned in his final 3 seasons in Seattle. Leaving his original team was not an easy decision, especially a team on the rise at the time. Hutchinson's last game as a Seahawk was Super Bowl XL against Pittsburgh.
Hutchinson was teammates with Vikings Ring of Honor member John Randle from 2001-03 and remained close when he came to Minnesota for the 2006 season. Randle went to the Pro Bowl in '01 for Seattle after making 6 appearances in the all-star game for the Vikings. Randle put the closing paragraph on his 14-season NFL career (Minnesota 1990-2000, Seattle 2001-03) in Seattle and polished his Hall of Fame resume, racking up 137.5 career sacks, 114 of those in Minnesota, the most in NFL history by a DT.
Former wide receiver Sidney Rice started his career playing four seasons with the Vikings, before finishing it in Seattle from 2011-2013. Rice played his best season in 2009, recording 1,312 yards on 83 receptions and eight touchdowns. That year, the Vikings won the NFC North division and went to the playoffs, ultimately defeated by New Orleans in the 2009 NFC Championship game.
Minnesota native John Carlson was selected by Seattle in round two of the 2008 NFL Draft. Carlson scored 13 touchdowns in three years with the Seahawks, sitting out 2011 with an injury. As a free agent, Carlson signed with the Vikings in 2012 and played for two seasons before retiring prior to the 2015 season.
Heath Farwell played for the Vikings from 2005-2010, primarily contributing on special teams. Farwell then moved to Seattle where he finished out his career from 2011-2014 and earned a ring for Super Bowl XLVIII.
Former quarterback Warren Moon followed up his long run in Houston with three seasons for the Vikings (going to the Pro Bowl in 1994 and '95) and two seasons in Seattle.
Former Vikings Head Coach Mike Tice started in the NFL as a player, primarily for the Seahawks, and former Vikings offensive coordinator Darrell Bevell now holds the same position for the Pacific Northwest team. Vikings defensive backs coach Jerry Gray worked with the Seahawks secondary during the 2010 season.
The connections extend off the field, as well. Current Seattle Head Coach Pete Carroll gained invaluable experience under Jerry Burns and Bud Grant, who made a point to locate Carroll for a sideline hug prior to the teams' last matchup on Dec. 6.
This week, the former co-workers have a chance to see each other again at the Wild Card matchup in what looks to be one of the coldest games in NFL history. It seems somehow fitting. Grant and Carroll spent plenty of games in frigid temperatures long ago, and they will again on Sunday.
Will they share a warm exchange on the sidelines, offer a hello for an old friend? Probably. But when it comes time for kickoff, the two coaches will be hoping for very different outcomes.
