As defensive end Cam Jordan and the Saints defense try to get back on track Sunday in their home opener against Minnesota, a long-time Vikings star will be in the Superdome, pulling for the Saints.
Steve Jordan played 12 years with Vikings as a tight end and was 6-time pro bowl selection. He's now listed by the Vikings as one of the franchise's 50 greatest players of all time. However, his son Cam is looking to step up into a leadership role in the drifting Saints defense and as always, Steve Jordan will be there to offer his support.
"He's always been ready to give me advice," Cam Jordan said. "In high school, I wouldn't take it. In college, I realized I needed it. Now, I talk to him every week and rely on his football knowledge."
The elder Jordan gives his son insight into how an offense thinks, what strategies a player trying to score will use and what weaknesses he will exploit.
Last season, that certainly was a contributing factor in Cam Jordan's breakout season and first Pro Bowl selection.
This season, however, Jordan is still in search of his first sack and the Saints defense as a whole is struggling with communication issues. Besides on-the-field knowledge, Steve Jordan also understands the art of timing.
"He knows to give me a day or two to flush a loss," Cam Jordan said. "I need a little time before I'm ready to talk."
The Saints have endured two defeats the past two weeks and now sit at a surprising 0-2 record. Sunday's home game is largely regarded as a must win before the team heads out on the road again next week to face the Dallas Cowboys.
The Saints defense is simplifying things for this week and position leaders like Jordan are taking it upon themselves to speak up faster and make sure their unit is ready for battle.
"This is unchartered territory for me," Jordan acknowledged. "I'm trying to step up and take a more vocal role."
The Saints defensive communication issues can be at least partially attributed to a mass exit of the most vocal veteran voices on that side of the ball: Jonathan Vilma, Will Smith, Roman Harper, Malcolm Jenkins, and Jabari Greer were all respected faces who kept the Saints defense on the same page.
Now it's up to players like Jordan, who's entering his fourth season, and veterans who are newcomers, like safety Jairus Byrd.
"I never played the vocal role when I was in Buffalo. I was more of the lead-by-example type," Byrd said. "It's my first year here, so I was treading lightly. But now I'm trying to get out of my comfort zone and put it on myself to make sure the secondary is all were we need to be."
