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Kelly Stafford made waves on social media this week as a story about her past with husband Matthew Stafford circulated online outlets.
While making a recent podcast appearance, she said reflected on her relationship with the Rams signal caller, saying that the happy couple we see today wasn’t necessarily on the same page back in college.
In fact, while they were an “item” when Stafford was tossing passes for the Georgia Bulldogs, the quarterback wasn’t thrilled with the idea of making things exclusive.
To stir things up, Kelly revealed that she actually began dating a backup passer in the UGA locker room to make Stafford jealous.
From the Off the Vine podcast with Kaitlyn Bristowe:
“I met him before school started, because we were both there for two-a-days,” Stafford recalled. “I was there for cheerleading. He was there for football… We had a really good time, but he was the QB at an SEC college… [He was trying to casually date], and I didn’t know what that was.
“Long story short, it wasn’t that cute of a relationship at first. I hated him. I loved him. I dated the backup to p— him off – which worked. He was the bad boy, too. Matthew was so sweet, and Southern gentleman, and all that stuff. The backup was the complete opposite, and it upset him. It worked, thankfully.”
Now, taking a quick look at the UGA rosters during Matthew Stafford’s time in college, you’ll find backups Joe Tereshinski, Blake Barnes, Joe Cox, and Logan Gray.
Cox, who’s now an assistant coach on Lane Kiffin’s staff at Ole Miss, stood out to many as he was on the roster all three of Stafford’s seasons in Athens.
Speculation of him being “the other guy” was immediately sparked online.
Lane Kiffin responded to seeing his staff member linked to Kelly Stafford.
After seeing the story go viral, the head coach chimed in. He didn’t rule the possibility of his assistant being the man used to make Matthew Stafford jealous.
“Maybe…” he wrote on X in response to an image of Cox posted alongside the online rumor.
It’s all just speculation at this point, but there seems at least a 25% chance that Joe Cox is the backup being referenced!
Matthew and Kelly Stafford obviously got married later on down the road, so it seems she got what she wanted out of the reserve relationship.
Stafford went on to have a borderline Hall of Fame NFL career while his counterpart got into coaching after his stint in Athens.
Was Cox the other guy? We’re still not sure. Lane Kiffin isn’t ruling it out!