Rick Mirer
Mirer, the 10-year NFL veteran quarterback and former Notre Dame star, was kind enough to respond to our #LaxDad thread last week. He followed up with more on Saturday afternoon.
He owns the claim to the most successful current lacrosse-playing child on this list. His son, Morrison, is in line to be a potential starting middie for Notre Dame in 2021.
Bill Belichick
Oh yes, a list involving lacrosse and football would not be complete without a reference to Bill Belichick. After all, the former Wesleyan player is a father to two lacrosse enthusiasts themselves.
Belichick’s daughter, Amanda, is in her sixth seasons as head coach at Holy Cross, with a previous stop as coach at Wesleyan. She also starred for her father’s alma mater for four years. His son, Stephen, played collegiate lacrosse at Rutgers before joining the Patriots’ staff as the outside linebackers coach.
John Harbaugh
Harbaugh has been vocal in his support for his daughter, Alison, who will play college lacrosse at Notre Dame this spring. Numerous stories have been written about Harbaugh’s excitement for lacrosse, and his ongoing attempt to be a top-notch Lax Dad.
Tedy Bruschi
Bruschi, like his former coach for the New England Patriots, has been a vocal supporter of lacrosse since his sons, Rex and Dante, picked up the game. Now that his boys are high schoolers, he's taken time to introduce them to prominent lacrosse stars at PLL events. The Bruschi family even took part in a trick shot challenge earlier this spring.
Drew Bledsoe
The former first overall pick and four-time Pro Bowler can now be found pacing the lacrosse sidelines in Bend, Ore. A number of the Bledsoe children have played lacrosse, including Stuart (Cal Poly MCLA), Henry (Summit), Healy (Summit). Bledsoe was nice enough to send along a photo with Henry and Healy at Summit (Ore.).
Mike Golic Jr.
The recently retired ESPN personality and radio host was a Lax Dad for a brief period of time, but enough for him to develop an affinity for the sport. His son and current ESPN personality, Mike Golic Jr., started playing lacrosse in fifth grade and continued through high school in Avon, Conn.
Check out his episode of “Overtime with Paul Carcaterra” to learn more about Golic’s lacrosse background.
Jim Brown
Arguably the greatest lacrosse player of all-time will now watch his son, Aris, play college lacrosse at Hampton. Brown, the former Syracuse great, was excited about the choice to play lacrosse at an HBCU.
Aris Brown comes to Hampton from the popular Sierra Canyon.
Jim Zorn
Zorn, the former Seahawks quarterback and head coach in Washington D.C., is the father to two college lacrosse players. His daughter, Dani, played at Mercer Island (Wash.) then at Gordon College. His son, Isaac, played high school at Rockhurst Jesuit in Kansas City and college lacrosse at Messiah. Hat tip for the reminder from Mercer Island coach Ian O'Hearn.
Jim Mora
Mora, the former Atlanta Falcons and UCLA Bruins head coach, had a successful NFL coaching career. Recently, he spent time traveling to games for his son, Ryder, who played for Maryland before moving to USC men's lacrosse (MCLA).
Ronde Barber
Barber, the legendary cornerback for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, hung up the cleats after over 1,000 tackles and five Pro Bowls and began his next chapter as a Lax Dad. In this article, Barber talked about his daughter, Justyce, who is committed to William & Mary.
Matt Stover
Stover, the legendary Baltimore Ravens kickers, is the father to two former college lacrosse player. His son, Jacob, played goalie at Loyola before making the jump to the PLL champion Whipsnakes LC. His daughter, Jenna, played at Messiah College and currently coaches for Jefferson University (Pa.). Jenna sent us this photo of the Stover family at a Messiah game.
Junior Seau
The late Hall of Fame linebacker who spent time with the Chargers and Patriots played the role of lacrosse dad to his son, Jake. The younger Seau made his way to Duke, where he played 53 games in parts of five seasons. Props to Keith Ferrell for the reminder.
Harris Barton
Barton has been an ultimate Lax Dad over the past few years. The former All-Pro and three-time Super Bowl champion offensive lineman, cheers on his daughter, Anna, who plays at North Carolina and son, Paul, who is committed to play in Chapel Hill. Thanks for the email, Harris.
Troy Evans
Evans, the former Super Bowl-champion linebacker for the New Orleans Saints, has a fifth-grade daughter playing lacrosse.
Lou Benfatti
Benfatti joined the NFL in 1994 and played three seasons with the New York Jets. His daughter, Danae, is now a freshman at Messiah.
READER ADDITIONS
Shoutout to Dr. Tact on Twitter for reminding us of a few more Lax Dads.
We love our Lax Moms all day, every day, Tracy!
How could we forget Daryl Johnston?
Jets assistant coach Todd Washington is also a Lax Dad.
Current Tampa Bay Buccaneers nose tackle Steve McClendon threw his name into the mix. He and his family took in a PLL game last year.
FROM INSTAGRAM
Bill Romanowski
Howie Long Sr.
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Jeff Dumpson
Qadry Ismail