Jimmy Garoppolo prefers to keep his family life away from the public eye, something that is difficult to do for an NFL quarterback. Jimmy has granted just a couple rare interviews discussing his parents and brothers dating back to his college career at Eastern Illinois.
Jimmy’s nationality is Italian and his family is proud of their heritage. Prior to entering the NFL, Jimmy discussed his family in a 2014 interview with Sauk Valley.
“My Nana – we call her Nana, actually, it’s Italian – was texting me right before this wishing me luck,” Jimmy told SaukValley.com. “It’s my mom’s birthday coming up, so we’re going to get together as a family. It’s a rare thing that we get everyone together, so when we get the opportunity, it’s awesome.”
Jimmy’s grandmother, Jane Garoppolo, is a first-generation American whose parents grew up in Italy, per Sauk Valley.
“We’re really close, and we really care about one another,” Jane explained to Sauk Valley. “It’s a small family.”
Jimmy has three brothers, Mike, Tony Jr. and Billy. Jimmy’s mom, Denise Garoppolo, noted that the Niners quarterback was a quiet kid growing up when compared to his siblings.
“[Jimmy] really just flowed with the way everything went,” Denise explained to Bleacher Report. “So on vacations, he really never caused any kind of a problem. My other sons were more boisterous. Jimmy wasn’t.”
Jimmy G’s Dad Is an Electrician Who Worked Early Hours to Help Coach His Son’s Sports Teams
Jimmy comes from a family with a strong work ethic. His father, Tony Garoppolo Sr., is an electrician that was out the door every morning by 6:30 a.m. but made sure to leave work in time to coach his son’s sports teams, per Bleacher Report. Jimmy’s dad’s work ethic is something he tried to instill in his son as Bleacher Report detailed.
“You think you worked hard?” Tony Sr. would ask.
“I think I put in some good work,” Jimmy replied.
“There’s always someone working harder than you,” his father would tell 18-year-old Jimmy, then walk away. The words still leave Jimmy shaking his head.
“He’d just sneak it in,” Jimmy says now. “I would just be like, ‘What the f—, man?’”
Jimmy Was the 1st in His Family to Play Quarterback
The Garoppolo brothers love sports but quarterback was not a position that anyone in the family had experience playing. Jimmy noted that there was a bit of a learning curve to lining up under center.
“I didn’t know about quarterbacking,” Jimmy explained to Bleacher Report. “Nobody in my family had ever done it.”
Jimmy will forever be linked to Tom Brady after beginning his career as his backup in New England. It is still unclear how much of a role the Patriots quarterback played in Jimmy being traded to the Niners, but both players have taken the high road since the deal. What is clear is how much Jimmy was able to learn from practicing with Tom each day.
“You gotta look up the ladder and see who’s done it well, and I think he just tried to duplicate as much as he could at what Tom did, and that’s not going out too late on the weekend and getting in trouble,” Tony Jr. noted to Bleacher Report.
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Jimmy Garoppolo’s Family Embraces Italian Roots