CHESAPEAKE, Va. (WAVY) — The Stukes family from Hampton Roads hopes to put themselves in the history books a second time with a Los Angeles Rams win on Sunday.
Virginia Sports Hall of Famer and Chesapeake native Charles Stukes started his career at cornerback for the Baltimore Colts, which won Superbowl V against the Dallas Cowboys in 1971, cementing his legacy for the family. He played for the Colts for six seasons and had a total of 32 interceptions for 443 yards. He finished the final two seasons of his career with the Los Angeles Rams. His last season was in 1974.
Now, Charles Stukes’ son, Dwayne Stukes, has an opportunity to be the second person in the Stukes family to win a Super Bowl — and he is focused on achieving that goal.
10 On Your Side spoke with the father-son duo Thursday ahead of Sunday’s Super Bowl game between the Rams and Cincinnati Bengals.
Charles taught his son how to play football at a young age. As Dwayne got older, he played collegiately for the University of Virginia as a receiver. He eventually turned to the defensive side of the ball and was a cornerback just like his father. Dwayne Stukes credits his father for all his success and idolized his play on the field. He believes that the foundation he set for the family will continue for generations.
“He’s a Virginia legend, regardless of what people say. He’s in the Virginia Hall of Fame, he’s a Virginia legend, his name carries a lot of weight. His mindset, his athleticism, things that he taught me growing up made me into the person I am as far as wanting to play football, being an aggressive player and the things that I did in my football career,” Dwayne said about his father.
Due to multiple injuries in his career, Dwayne decided it was best for him to become a coach, so he sought advice from a friend on how to make the transition.
In 2006, his first opportunity as a coach started with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers where he was an intern. He eventually was hired full-time as a quality control/special teams/coaching assistant.
“I am so proud of my son. He’s a person [who will] never give up. He’s worked hard and he’s where he is today because of the drive that he had. The confidence in himself that he could do whatever he [chose] to do. His mindset was so great in football that he chose to go into coaching. Now we got another Stukes in the Super Bowl,” Charles said.
Dwayne has worked for multiple NFL franchises, including the New York Giants, Chicago Bears, Dallas Cowboys and Jacksonville Jaguars. He had up and down seasons, but his time working for the Rams has been his most successful tenure so far. Dwayne Stukes is starting year two with the Los Angeles Rams as their assistant special teams coach, is 3-0 in the playoffs, and wants his team to come out on top on Sunday.
“I mean, there is no ‘tomorrow,’ I know that people say this all the time. There is no tomorrow. On Sunday, it’s the last game of the NFL season, and again to not come on top would be very disappointing, it would be heartbreaking. I don’t even have those thoughts in my mind, I’m speaking a Rams win into existence. I believe we have the talent to win the game. Now we just gotta go out and do it. You can’t talk about it, you gotta go out and actually do it.” Dwayne said.
