Who are Matthew Stafford’s parents John and Margaret Stafford? A closer look at the family behind the NFL star

Matthew Stafford was born in Tampa, Florida. His family moved to Dallas, Texas, when he was in high school. His father, John Stafford, swam at Florida State University. He was a graduate assistant coach at the University of Georgia, then head coach at The Bolles School from 1972 to 1976, and head men's swimming coach at Florida State from 1977 to 1983. He later left coaching to start a private insurance business in Tampa.Excerpts from the November 2024 episode “The Morning After with Matthew’s Mom Margaret” on The Morning After with Kelly Staffordpodcast share details about Matthew Stafford’s mother, Margaret. She is curious, well-versed in the arts, and very creative. She was involved with a designer magazine in Dallas for a long time.Margaret Stafford’s parenting style: “You do parent different kids differently from what their needs are or what they excel at. I wanted to make sure he [Matthew] was always loving it [football] and having fun because there’s nothing more miserable than being on a field and seeing a child who doesn’t want to be there. You see that more when they’re younger.”Margaret has been a constant presence at Matthew’s games, often boosting his confidence as an athlete. He has a younger sister, Page, who is often spotted in Kelly Stafford’s old Instagram photos.In the podcast, Margaret describes her experience with Stafford’s successful shoulder surgery in 2011. Dr. James Andrews inserted a metal rod into the shoulder. Margaret and her family watched the surgery through a glass wall. She recalled that a trainer was sent from Detroit [Lions] and allowed into the surgery. He stood on a box over Matthew’s head with his hands folded, just watching. She recalls Dr. Andrews showing the wire [metal rod] and saying, “This is what we’re putting in.” She almost fainted.She started crying on the podcast when she recalled the whole setup of observing the surgery, with that trainer just watching him; she felt like, “Oh, that’s his piece of property. That is his money man. He’s on the table, and he [trainer] was sent from Detroit to make sure that everything was okay. He’s lovely, and I was glad he was there, but the whole setup was like, ‘Oh, this is not my baby.’ It’s not like when you take your child to a pediatrician...” Hank Winchester [veteran Detroit TV reporter and fellow host of podcast] completed her sentence, “You felt like you were watching a piece of machinery, almost, like they were working on a machine being fixed.” Margaret agreed.U.S. Masters Swimming from William Woollett Jr. Aquatics Center shared a heartfelt Instagram post in April 2023. They shared four photos of the Rams quarterback, one with his parents, and captioned it: "Look who's here: Super Bowl LVI champion Matthew Stafford, the LA Rams quarterback. He's here lap counting and cheering for his father, John Stafford! Spring Nationals is John Stafford's fourth swim meet after he suffered a heart attack while swimming alone in his pool two years ago. After that experience, he transitioned to swimming on Jim Montgomery Masters Swim to have someone watch over him while training. He's lost 30 pounds this year and is a USMS national champion in the 1000 freestyle. Congratulations, John!"