Most Famous Families of Football

You may not know it, but the NFL is a family affair. Over the years, fathers, sons, brothers and cousins have all swarmed the field of play in the name of pigskin.

There have been countless bloodlines to enter the league since its inception. Our job is to find out who the 10 most famous and recognizable ones are and rank them.

The criteria can be anything when it comes to these coaches and players. Are they in the Hall of Fame? Have they won a Super Bowl? Is their brand off the field endearing? What do their stats look like?

Without waiting around any longer, let's dive right in and check out 10 of the most famous families in NFL history.

10. Antonio Cromartie, Marcus Cromartie and Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie

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The Cromartie family in terms of NFL lineage consists of three defensive backs. Antonio Cromartie, who spent the 2014 season with the Arizona Cardinals, is the elder statesman at 30 years of age.

His cousin, Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie, is a member of the New York Giants after signing a five-year, $35 million in March of last year.

Both of these Cromarties have had some pretty special moments since they've joined the NFL.

Antonio had 10 interceptions his second season in the league with the San Diego Chargers. He's never come close to those numbers again, but he's consistently been a reliable cornerback whether he was playing with the Chargers, New York Jets or Arizona Cardinals.

Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie has bounced around the league himself, making stops in Arizona, Philadelphia, Denver and New York.

Minus a tough year with the Eagles, he's been pretty consistent with the advanced metrics community. Pro Football Focus is one site that usually gives DRC positive marks.

In 2014, he graded out as the 17th-best cornerback. He fared a little better in 2013—his contract year—finishing that season sixth overall.

The one Cromartie who doesn't get nearly as much recognition is Marcus.

Coming out of Wisconsin in 2013, he signed with the Chargers as an undrafted free agent. After a quick stop with the Cleveland Browns, Marcus was signed by the San Francisco 49ers this past season.

He spent a good portion of the 2014 season playing special teams in the Bay Area, but he saw some action toward the end of the season as the 49ers' backfield piled up injuries.

Together, these three defensive backs have done a nice job representing the Cromartie moniker over the years.

9. Bob and Brian Griese

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There have been two Griese quarterbacks who have played in the National Football League. Bob Griese was the QB of the undefeated 1972 Miami Dolphins before he broke his ankle midway through the season.

He spent his entire career with the Dolphins, starting 151 out of a possible 161 regular-season games. He also was credited with seven playoff appearances.

As a former first-round pick—No. 4 overall—Bob did what he was expected to do. He threw for 25,092 yards and 192 touchdowns, and he ended up with 16 fourth-quarter comebacks and 20 game-winning drives.

Bob was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1990 after four previous tries.

Eight years after he was enshrined in Canton, Ohio, Bob's son Brian was taken by the Denver Broncos in the third round of the draft.

The younger Griese's first year in the league was spent backing up the great John Elway. Things could've been worse. He watched Elway guide the Broncos to a Super Bowl win, and despite only throwing two passes all year, Brian got a ring for his troubles.

Elway's retirement after that game allowed Brian to go out and start 13 games in 1999.

Alas, he would never live up to the hype of his predecessor. Brian Griese's NFL career was split between four teams before he left the NFL for good in 2008 at the age of 33.

His father, Bob, is enough to push the Grieses to No. 9 on this list, because, let's be honest, a Hall of Fame quarterback tends to do that.

8. Kellen Winslow Sr. and Jr.

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When your father is the guy who changed the way NFL teams look at the tight end position, odds are you're going to have great genetics.

Kellen Winslow Sr. was a Hall of Fame tight end who spent his time with the San Diego Chargers. He suited up for nine seasons in the NFL. Per the Pro Football Hall of Fame's official website, Winslow Sr. was haunted by knee injuries.

He constantly battled past the injury bug before he had to shut it down for good after 12 games in 1987. Winslow Sr. was so talented that despite being limited to a nine-year career, he still posted stupendous numbers.

The 6'5" tight end caught 541 passes for 6,741 yards and 45 touchdowns in 94 games.

To put that into perspective, longtime Kansas City Chiefs and Atlanta Falcons great Tony Gonzalez grabbed 397 balls for 4,731 yards and 37 touchdowns in his first 95 contests.

His son, Kellen Winslow Jr., wasn't the player his father was, yet he still managed to have a handful of solid years with the Cleveland Browns and Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

Winslow Jr. served for nine seasons in the NFL—the same length as his father. Although he was talented, the younger Winslow will be remembered more for his off-field comments and personality.

Put them together and what you have is two talented tight ends who carried the Winslow name through nearly 20 years of NFL action.

7. The Ryan Family

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What family consists of two blustery defensive coaches and a father who revolutionized that side of the ball? The Ryan gang.

Buddy Ryan, the patriarch of the family, was once the head coach of the Philadelphia Eagles and Arizona Cardinals. But what put him on the map was the time he spent as the defensive coordinator of the Chicago Bears during their glory years in the '80s.

That was the place where Ryan's famous 46 defense flourished.

Ryan was and still is to this day an influencer. His brand of physical, creative football played a major role in his sons'—Rob and Rex—careers as well as current Cleveland Browns head coach Mike Pettine, per Tom Reed of the Cleveland Plain Dealer.

Speaking of his sons, is there any active duo of brotherly coaches who are more famous in the NFL?

Rex Ryan cut his teeth with the Baltimore Ravens from 2005 until 2008 as defensive coordinator before he scurried off to New York and took the job as head coach of the Jets in '09. He helped guide that Jets team to back-to-back AFC Championship Games his first two seasons on the job.

Quarterback troubles and personnel issues forced Ryan out of New York City, but he quickly rebounded, landing in Buffalo as the Bills head coach, per ESPN's Adam Schefter.

His brother Rob has spent his fair share of time in this league as the defensive coordinator of a few teams. The Oakland Raiders, Cleveland Browns, Dallas Cowboys and, currently, the New Orleans Saints are all on his resume.

The Ryans are full of energy, bravado and aggression. They've done some great things in their respective coaching careers to date. It will be interesting to see what transpires next for Buddy's kin.

6. Ronde and Tiki Barber

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Tiki and Ronde Barber are twin brothers who played two very different positions.

During the 1997 NFL draft, Tiki was selected by the New York Giants in the second round, while his brother Ronde fell to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the third.

Both men would spend the extent of their careers with those two franchises.

Out in the big city, Tiki started 109 games for the Giants in the course of his 10 years there. He ran for 10,449 yards and scored a combined 67 touchdowns. That yardage total still ranks him No. 1 in team history and 25th in on the NFL's all-time list.

There could be a Hall of Fame-worthy case to be made for Tiki. Even at 31 years of age—well past the dreaded age of 30 for halfbacks—he ran for 1,662 yards and caught 58 passes for an additional 465 receiving yards.

His brother, on the other hand, should make it to Canton in the near future.

Ronde won a Super Bowl title with the Buccaneers in 2002. He was a fixture of the Tampa 2 defense, lining up mainly at the right cornerback position. After his brother retired in 2006, Ronde would go on to play six more years, painting a Hall of Fame legacy along the way.

Ronde's final numbers were impressive, picking up 47 interceptions, 1,028 tackles and 12 defensive TDs. Tackles as a category tends to vary by source, but if you go by the results plastered on the team's official website, he's second to the great Derrick Brooks for the most in team history.

Despite not being first-round picks, both Barber brothers had remarkable careers. For that reason, they are still one of the most recognizable families in football.

5. The Harbaugh Family

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Jim Harbaugh may be the lead man at the University of Michigan nowadays, but thanks to his brother John and all of the great things both of these guys have done in the pro game, they will be remembered for an eternity.

Similar to the Ryan clan, the Harbaughs are a football family at heart. Their father, Jack, was a longtime college coach.

The laundry list of places he took jobs at was wild. Jack spent time at Morehead State, Bowling Green, Iowa, Michigan, Stanford, Western Michigan, Pittsburgh Western Kentucky and San Diego.

His offspring carried on with that legacy. Jim, the younger son, played 15 seasons as a quarterback in the NFL before jumping into the coaching ranks. Those seasons as a signal-caller were split up between the Chicago Bears, Indianapolis Colts, Baltimore Ravens, San Diego Chargers and finally ending with the Carolina Panthers in 2001.

A year after his retirement, he was hired as the quarterbacks coach for the Oakland Raiders under then-head coach Bill Callahan. He'd stay in that position until 2004, when the University of San Diego made him the program's head coach at age 41.

We all know what happened next: Harbaugh took the head coaching gig at Stanford, had immense success and was eventually hired to coach the San Francisco 49ers for four seasons.

Jim's passion for the game was apparent, and it made him a household name. But it's his brother John who's had the most success as a head coach in the NFL.

John's been with the Ravens as their head coach since 2008. Since he was hired, the team's never had a losing season, and they won the Super Bowl in 2012 against his brother's 49ers.

This family has a rich heritage of football greatness, and because of that, their name has become synonymous with success.

4. The Long Family

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When your father is a Hall of Fame defensive end, you definitely have big shoes to fill. Chris and Kyle Long's NFL lineage starts with their father, Howie.

The former Los Angeles Raiders pass-rusher—that's right, Howie played for the L.A. version of the Raiders—is one of the all-time Silver and Black greats. 

Long is still second in career sacks for the franchise with 84 behind the great Greg Townsend. He made eight Pro Bowl appearances and was also a two-time First-Team All-Pro defensive end.

Folks will remember when Howie was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2000 with his sons standing there by his side.

Little did we know back then that both Kyle and Chris would be on NFL rosters down the road.

Kyle was drafted in the first round of the 2013 draft by the Chicago Bears, while defensive end Chris made his debut a bit earlier, landing with the St. Louis Rams in 2008 as the second overall pick that year.

Seven seasons into his career, Chris has accumulated 51.5 sacks. His brother Kyle has settled into his role with the Bears, grading out as PFF's 12th-best offensive guard in 2014.

If one thing is clear, it's that Howie, Chris and Kyle were all meant to play football.

3. Mike and Kyle Shanahan

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The title for the most famous father-son coaching duo in the league belongs to Mike and Kyle Shanahan.

You know Mike's story by now. He was first hired to coach the Los Angeles Raiders at age 36 but was canned shortly after that by Al Davis.

He would get a second chance in the coaching ranks in 1995 with the Denver Broncos and John Elway. Shanahan would go on to win two super Bowls in Denver and compile a 136-86 regular-season record before he was fired in 2008.

Mike would take a two-year sabbatical from coaching until he was hired to lead Washington in 2010—the unconventional marriage between him and owner Daniel Snyder would later wrap up in 2013.

His son, Kyle Shanahan, came into the pro coaching ranks when Jon Gruden hired him in 2004 to be the offensive quality control coach. He would later transition over to Gary Kubiak's staff with the Houston Texans and wind up being promoted to offensive coordinator in 2008.

Since then, he's been the offensive coordinator for Washington—under his father's watch—and, most recently, the Cleveland Browns before resigning at the end of this season.

To date, rumors are still swirling about NFL front offices gauging the interests of both Mike and Kyle. Where they land is anyone's guess.

What the Shanahans represent are two crafty football minds. Even in times of despair, they always should be able to find work in this league.

2. The Matthews Family

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We've discussed some impressive football clans so far. But legacy-wise, few can live up the Matthews.

There have been so many Matthews to play in the league that it's hard to keep track. Let's try to name them all: Clay Matthews Sr., Clay Matthews Jr., Bruce Matthews, Kevin Matthews, Jake Matthews, Casey Matthews and Clay Matthews III.

The most famous of the bunch are Clay Jr., Bruce and the current Green Bay Packers edge-rusher, Clay III.

Bruce was a Hall of Fame offensive lineman who played from 1983 until 2001. Few players have a career that spanned three decades. Not only was his career long, but he also started 293 out of possible 296 games.

Linebacker Clay Jr. played 16 years in the league, reaching four Pro Bowls along the way.

His son, Clay Matthews III, is the leader of the Packers defense. Featured as a pass-rushing outside linebacker, Matthews already has 61 sacks and a Super Bowl ring in just six seasons.

The youngest of the bunch, Jake, was taken No. 6 overall by the Atlanta Falcons in the 2014 draft. He struggled immensely by PFF's count, ending the 2014 season as the worst tackle in the league. However, it's far too early to label Jake a bust.

Hopefully he can get it together and follow in his Hall of Fame father Bruce's footsteps.

The Matthews name is one that's ingrained in the NFL record books. No family tree has been as consistent as those guys have.

1. The Manning Family

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The Matthews may have had more NFL members to come out of their family, but they aren't on the same level as Archie, Peyton and Eli Manning.

Quarterbacks are the most sought-after and talked-about position in football. That simple fact of life gives all three of these guys a leg up on the competition.

Truth be told, Archie didn't have the best career with the New Orleans Saints. Part of that was his fault and part of that was due to the fact the Saints were an abomination. During the time Archie was under center for the Saints, he never won more than eight games in a season.

He also led the league in the worst stat possible three times: getting sacked.

Peyton is Peyton. He's the all-time leader in passing touchdowns and one of the single greatest QBs to ever take the field. He's done some remarkable things statistically with the Indianapolis Colts and Denver Broncos.

But the one thing he hasn't done is win two Super Bowl rings. That accomplishment belongs to his younger brother Eli.

Eli Manning's two championships are beyond special. Besides the fact the Giants won twice with him, both games were versus the New England Patriots. In the New York area, that's a really big deal.

Unlike Peyton or Archie, Eli is the king of clutch. According to the great Nate Silver of FiveThirtyEight, he's actually the most clutch signal-caller in league history.

Off the field, the Mannings' brand is strong. They are endorsement machines. Everywhere you turn, one of their faces is plastered on the TV.

What else is there to say? We all know that Archie, Peyton and Eli are truly football's first family.

Unless noted otherwise, all game scores, stats and information come courtesy of Pro-Football-Reference.com.