POCATELLO, Idaho- As the NFL playoffs prepare to start this weekend there are several former Idaho State Bengals who are on rosters as a either a player or coach. The highlight of the first weekend comes on January 5 when Jared Allen and the Minnesota Vikings play at the Green Bay Packers where Evan Dietrich Smith starts on the offensive line.
Allen starts on the defensive line for the Vikings where he has tallied 45 tackles and 12 sacks. This is his ninth season in the NFL and his fifth with the Vikings. For his career he has 117 sacks and 409 tackles.
Dietrich Smith has played in all 16 games for the Packers this year, starting six. He also appeared in all 16 games last year and started three contests. He spent the 2010 season with Green Bay and Seattle and played in 13 games for the Packers in 2009.
Former Bengal player and coach Marvin Lewis is preparing to take his team to the No. 3 seed Houston Texans on Saturday, Jan. 5. Lewis played at ISU from 1978-80 and then coached from 1981-84. He was inducted in the Idaho State Athletic Hall of Fame in 2001. Lewis is in his 10th season as head coach of the Bengals, having posted the most wins (69 at the start of the 2012 season) in franchise history. He has led the team to the postseason in three out of the last four years.
Dirk Koetter is in his first season as the offensive coordinator for the Atlanta Falcons, the 2012 NFC South champions. The Falcons are the No. 1 seed in the NFC going into the playoffs. Before coming to Atlanta, Koetter served as the offensive coordinator for the Jacksonville Jaguars from 2007-11. Koetter is a Pocatello native.
SAT, JAN 5 TIME (ET) TV
Cincinnati at Houston
4:30 PM NBC
Minnesota at Green Bay
8:00 PM NBC
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