Matthew Stafford Guides Daughters Team to Flag Football Title

Los Angeles Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford coached a youth flag football team featuring three of his daughters to a championship after taking over when the team's original coach became unavailable, according to an ESPN report published October 12, 2026.

The team included six girls and four boys, with Stafford's daughters Chandler, 9, Sawyer, 9, and Hunter, 8, among the players. According to ESPN, the girls became interested in the sport after attending a girls flag football camp at the Rams' facility the previous year.

Stafford said parents asked him to step in after a local high school student could no longer coach because of a scheduling conflict.

"Everybody just kind of looked at me and was like, 'I mean ... it should be you,'" Stafford said.

The Rams quarterback focused on making the game easier for young players by using simple concepts instead of the complex strategies involved at the NFL level.

"I tried to keep it as simple as I possibly could," Stafford said.

"We kind of just lined up and played the same defense all the time and tried to keep it simple for them so they could go play and have fun," Stafford said.

Stafford explained that coaching children required a different approach from his professional role with the Rams.

"I'm just a dad out there at that point," Stafford said.

"I could scheme up some stuff, but can we execute it? Probably not. I'd draw something up, we'd run the play, I'd look at my sheet and be like, 'That's not anything what I thought I was going to get,' but we score a touchdown on it," Stafford said.

Other NFL players also discussed coaching their children in youth sports. New England Patriots right tackle Morgan Moses coaches his sons Isaiah, 11, Jeremiah, 10, and Legend, 8, and emphasized learning fundamentals over results.

"I told everybody I really don't care if we win or lose, I just want the kids to walk away knowing they learned great football strategy," Moses said.

"So when they leave, and if they don't play on my team the following year, they have a set of fundamentals they can lean on," Moses said.

Los Angeles Chargers outside linebacker Bud Dupree said he created BD Elite to provide young athletes with a positive environment focused on development. The program expanded beyond his own children after he became concerned about how some adults approached youth coaching.

"A lot of coaches are in it for the wrong reasons," Dupree said.

"A lot of coaches are focused on the wrong things. They yell at the kids that never played sports in their life," Dupree said.

Dupree said his goal was to help children improve their skills and understand the game rather than focus only on results.

"So, I want to make sure that when they're young what they're doing is not necessarily focused on all wins. It's focused on maturing in the game, getting better at the actual sport and learning from the mistakes that they make and understanding the actual game of football," Dupree said.

"I started it for my kids, but along the way, I just wanted to reach as many kids as I could, and I took upon that to make it stand, man. Now, I'm trying to get kids in college, give them scholarships, taking on that. It's not only affecting my kids' life, but affecting other kids," Dupree said.

Carolina Panthers long snapper JJ Jansen said he spends significant time preparing baseball practices for his sons Luke, 13, and Ben, 7.

"Everything from scripting practice, thinking through how they each should develop in their own way. One of my absolute favorite things to do is scripting out practice and going through each player, thinking, 'What do they need? What are the skills they need to develop?

What are the strategies they need to learn?' I spend way too much time on it, but I love it," Jansen said.

Jacksonville Jaguars quarterback Nick Mullens also became involved in youth baseball after his 7-year-old son Luke began playing coach-pitch baseball in Birmingham, Alabama.

"A week into practice, I was the second in command. The first practice, I was timid, but three practices in, you're like, 'All right, listen up.' And the kids start listening to you a little bit, so I really enjoy that aspect of it. It's a lot of fun," Mullens said.