It was mid-April, and Los Angeles Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford found himself on the sideline of a youth flag football game, whiteboard in hand, drawing up plays for his daughters and their teammates. The original plan was for a local high school student to coach, but when a scheduling conflict popped up, all eyes turned to Stafford. He kept the plays dead simple, running the same defense over and over so the kids could just go out and have fun. They won the championship, but Stafford’s focus was purely on the basics.
Stafford is far from alone in this. Across the league, from big-name veterans to key role players, a lot of current NFL guys are spending their weekends on local fields coaching their kids in football, baseball, soccer, basketball, and golf. New England Patriots right tackle Morgan Moses gets recognized at the spring youth games he coaches for his three boys. He jokes that parents on the opposing teams laugh and say, “They’re running NFL plays!” But Moses’s goal is simple: he doesn’t care about the score. He just wants the kids to walk away knowing they learned some solid football strategy they can use no matter where they play next.
Then there’s Bud Dupree. The Chargers linebacker will never forget when his sons asked to play flag football. Having seen how youth sports have shifted since he was a kid—often driven by coaches gambling on games or yelling at kids who have never played before—Dupree wanted a different environment. He started BD Elite, focusing on maturing, learning from mistakes, and understanding the actual game rather than just chasing wins. It grew from a team for his boys into a multi-age program, and now he’s helping kids aim for college scholarships.
JJ Jansen, the Panthers long snapper, calls coaching his two sons in baseball his greatest passion. He spends a massive amount of time scripting practices, thinking about each player’s individual needs and what skills they need to build. On the other side of the country, Nick Mullens coached his son’s coach-pitch baseball team in Alabama. To keep things low-key, he told parents he worked for a logistics company. That backfired when they kept asking him detailed questions about his fake job, forcing him to make up stories on the fly. He quickly learned it’s better to just tell people what you do.
Over in Massachusetts, former Patriots quarterback Brian Hoyer is the offensive coordinator for his son Garrett’s freshman high school team. Coaching your own kid at that age is a unique battle. Garrett is hardheaded, just like his dad. Hoyer admits he can be tough, once running Garrett laps in classic Bill Belichick fashion after a bad practice, telling him he’s only pushing him because he believes in his talent. Garrett calls it a good experience with some bumps in the road.
Not every coaching gig goes smoothly for the kids. Davante Adams tried to coach his seven-year-old daughter in golf, but she just wanted to quit and putt however she wanted. He learned to stay out of the way so she stays interested. Josh Johnson had to teach his nine-year-old son the hard way that game day is for showing what you practiced, not for trying things you haven’t worked on yet. Mike Evans coaches his daughter in AAU basketball, focusing on life lessons and building camaraderie, treating all his players the same even if his daughter thinks he’s a bit tough.
For all these guys, coaching their kids offers a fresh perspective on the game they’ve played professionally for so long. It reminds them of the simple joy of playing, seeing the game through a child’s eyes, and working hard to inspire the next generation. As Dupree put it, seeing your kids watch you work hard and then matching that hunger on the field is the ultimate reward. They aren’t just teaching sports; they’re passing on a love for the game.
