Mesa High School gets Arizona Cardinals connections with new coaching addition of Deuce Lutui, Vai Sikahema's brother

Sometimes when players for the Arizona Cardinals leave the NFL, we wonder what happens next. We have the answer for one guy who was drafted by and played for the Cardinals for several seasons. Former offensive lineman Deuce Lutui, who grew up in Mesa, is back in the game of football, joining the Mesa High School football coaching staff.

He is not the only Cardinals connection on that staff, either.

Jose Garcia from AZ Preps 365 tweeted it on Friday evening, but I saw the news earlier in the week on Facebook, as I am a Mesa High alum and also worked there for a decade as a teacher.

Lutui, who played seven years in the NFL -- six with the Cardinals -- returns to the high school he played for before playing at USC and getting drafted by the Cardinals in the third round in 2006.

He joins the staff of Kap Sikahema, who is the younger brother of Vai Sikahema, who was a 10th round pick of the St. Louis Cardinals in 1986 and played five seasons for the Cardinals in St. Louis and in Arizona. He was a two-time Pro Bowl returner and was an All-Pro.

Lutui was a solid player to start his career, but things fizzled out in Arizona when he struggled with his weight and conditioning. In 2011, after initially signing a pretty lucrative long-term contract with the Cincinnati Bengals, his contract was voided when he showed up weighing nearly 400 pounds. He returned to the Cardinals and sat on the bench all season before leaving the Cardinals for good.

Lutui played in 93 games for the Cardinals, starting 72 over his first five seasons.

Congrats to Deuce for returning home and congrats to the Jackrabbits for adding a fan favorite.