William Clay Matthews Jr. (born March 15, 1956) is a former

American football American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team wit ...

linebacker Linebacker (LB) is a playing position in gridiron football. Linebackers are members of the defensive team, and line up three to five yards behind the line of scrimmage and the defensive linemen. They are the "middle ground" of defenders, pl ...

who played for the

Cleveland Browns The Cleveland Browns are a professional American football team based in Cleveland. Named after original coach and co-founder Paul Brown, they compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference ( ...

and the Atlanta Falcons of the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the ma ...

(NFL). He was drafted in the first round by the Cleveland Browns and played in 278 games over 19 NFL seasons, which initially ranked him at number 17 among most games played (currently at number 21, see

List of NFL players by games played All-time most appearances (minimum 200 games played) ''Regular season only:'' (includes AAFC and AFL games) If more than one position is listed for a player, the BOLD listing is his primary position. This list is sorted by 1) games played, 2 ...

).NFL Career Games Leaders
/ref> Matthews had 1,561 tackles in his career, unofficially the third most in NFL history trailing

Jessie Tuggle Jessie Floyd Tuggle, III (born April 4, 1965) is a former professional American football linebacker who played for the Atlanta Falcons his entire career from 1987 to 2000. He graduated from Valdosta State College in Valdosta, Georgia. He appear ...

and

Ray Lewis Raymond Anthony Lewis Jr. (born May 15, 1975) is an American former professional football player who played as a middle linebacker with the Baltimore Ravens for his entire 17-year career in the National Football League (NFL). He played col ...

.NFL Career Tackles Leaders
/ref> He is the father of

Clay Matthews III William Clay Matthews III (born May 14, 1986) is an American former professional football player who was an outside linebacker in the National Football League (NFL). The six-time Pro Bowl selection and two-time All-Pro played primarily with t ...

, an

All-Pro All-Pro is an honor bestowed upon professional American football players that designates the best player at each position during a given season. All-Pro players are typically selected by press organizations, who select an "All-Pro team," a list t ...

linebacker and Super Bowl Champion, and

Casey Matthews Casey Christopher Matthews (born January 16, 1989) is a former American football linebacker. He was drafted by the Philadelphia Eagles in the fourth round of the 2011 NFL Draft. He played college football at Oregon. He is the brother of Clay Mat ...

, a former American football linebacker; brother of Hall of Fame offensive lineman Bruce Matthews.

Early life and college

Matthews was born into a football family. His father, Clay Matthews Sr., played for the NFL in the 1950s. Matthews graduated from New Trier East High School in Winnetka, Illinois, in 1974. Matthews and his brother

Bruce The English language name Bruce arrived in Scotland with the Normans, from the place name Brix, Manche in Normandy, France, meaning "the willowlands". Initially promulgated via the descendants of king Robert the Bruce (1274−1329), it has been a ...

both attended college at the

University of Southern California , mottoeng = "Let whoever earns the palm bear it" , religious_affiliation = Nonsectarian—historically Methodist , established = , accreditation = WSCUC , type = Private research university , academic_affiliations = , endowment = $8. ...

(USC), where both played on the

USC Trojans football The USC Trojans football program represents University of Southern California in the sport of American football. The Trojans compete in the NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision, Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) of the National Collegiate Ath ...

team.

Professional career

Matthews was drafted by the Cleveland Browns with the 12th pick in the first round of the

1978 NFL Draft The 1978 NFL draft was the procedure by which National Football League teams selected amateur college football players. It is officially known as the NFL Annual Player Selection Meeting. The draft was held May 2–3, 1978, at the Roosevelt Hot ...

. Matthews was a four-time selection for the

Pro Bowl The National Football League All-Star Game (1939–1942), Pro Bowl (1951–2022), or Pro Bowl Games (starting in 2023) is an annual event held by the National Football League (NFL) featuring the league's star players. The format has changed thro ...

with the Browns and was a cornerstone of the defense for well over a decade. In 1984, Matthews recorded 12.0 sacks. He was present at some infamous Browns playoff losses during the 1980s, known as

Red Right 88 Red Right 88 was a passing play called by the Cleveland Browns during the January 4, 1981 American Football Conference divisional playoff game against the Oakland Raiders; in the years since, the term has been used to refer to the game itself and ...

(1981),

The Drive The Drive was an offensive series in the fourth quarter of the 1986 AFC Championship Game played on January 11, 1987, at Cleveland Municipal Stadium between the Denver Broncos and Cleveland Browns. Broncos quarterback John Elway, in a span of 5 ...

(1987), and

The Fumble ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things that are already or about to be mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in ...

(1988), which stopped those Browns teams from potentially advancing to the Super Bowl. One of his most memorable moments as a Brown was in a playoff game against the Bills on January 6, 1990. With only seconds left in the fourth quarter and the Bills at the Browns' 11-yard line, Matthews intercepted a pass (at the one-yard line) thrown by Bills quarterback

Jim Kelly James Edward Kelly (born February 14, 1960) is a former American football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 11 seasons with the Buffalo Bills. He also spent two seasons with the Houston Gamblers of the United Stat ...

to seal a Cleveland victory. After the 1993 season, Matthews signed with the Atlanta Falcons. In 1995, at the age of 39, Matthews started all 16 games for the Falcons, and set a record as the oldest player to record a sack at the age of 40 years, 282 days. Matthews was named the AFC Defensive Player of the Week twice on the Cleveland Browns (Week 12, 1984 and Week 9, 1991). Matthews and his son,

, are the only father-son tandem to be named Defensive Player of the Week in the NFL.LB Clay Matthews Named NFC Defensive Player Of The Week
, ''Packers.com'', September 22, 2010, Accessed December 9, 2012.

Life after pro football

Matthews resides in

Agoura Hills, California Agoura Hills () is a city in the Santa Monica Mountains region of Los Angeles County, California, United States. Its population was 20,330 at the 2010 census, which decreased to 20,299 in 2020. It is in the eastern Conejo Valley between the ...

. He serves as defensive coordinator at

Oaks Christian High School Oaks Christian School (OCS) is a co-educational, college-preparatory, non-denominational Christian school serving grades 5–12. Oaks Christian School is located on in Westlake Village, Los Angeles County, California. The school was establishe ...

, a co-ed private school in

Westlake Village, California Westlake Village is a city in Los Angeles County on its western border with Ventura County. The City of Westlake Village incorporated in 1981 becoming the 82nd municipality of Los Angeles County.Baker, Pam (2002). ''Thousand Oaks Westlake Vil ...

which his son Casey attended. He was inducted into the USC Athletic Hall of Fame in 2005, along with his brother Bruce. Matthews also opened a Pontiac car dealership in the Cleveland suburb of

Euclid Euclid (; grc-gre, Εὐκλείδης; BC) was an ancient Greek mathematician active as a geometer and logician. Considered the "father of geometry", he is chiefly known for the ''Elements'' treatise, which established the foundations of ...

in 1992; it currently operates under new ownership as Sims Buick GMC. Matthews and his brother Bruce competed with members of their family on the popular TV

game show A game show is a genre of broadcast viewing entertainment (radio, television, internet, stage or other) where contestants compete for a reward. These programs can either be participatory or demonstrative and are typically directed by a host, ...

Family Feud ''Family Feud'' is an American television game show created by Mark Goodson. It features two families who compete to name the most popular answers to survey questions in order to win cash and prizes. The show has had three separate runs, the ...

'', hosted by

Richard Dawson Richard Dawson (born Colin Lionel Emm; 20 November 1932 – 2 June 2012) was a British-born American actor, comedian, game-show host and panelist in the United States. Dawson was well known for playing Corporal Peter Newkirk in ''Hogan's Hero ...

. The Matthews family won the game, with Matthews being one of two family members to play in the final round. They ended the game with 41 points total but did not take the $10,000 grand prize. In 2014, he was named Director of Football Operations at Carter High School (Tennessee), where he once served as an assistant coach.

Personal life

Matthews is married to Leslie Matthews. They have five children: Jennifer, Kyle, Brian, Clay III, and Casey. Clay III and Kyle played football at USC, while Casey was a linebacker for the

Oregon Ducks football The Oregon Ducks football program is a college football team for the University of Oregon, located in the U.S. state of Oregon. The team competes at the NCAA Division I level in the FBS and is a member of the Pac-12 Conference (Pac-12). Although ...

at the

University of Oregon The University of Oregon (UO, U of O or Oregon) is a public research university in Eugene, Oregon. Founded in 1876, the institution is well known for its strong ties to the sports apparel and marketing firm Nike, Inc, and its co-founder, billion ...

. Clay III was drafted by the

Green Bay Packers The Green Bay Packers are a professional American football team based in Green Bay, Wisconsin. The Packers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the National Football Conference (NFC) North division. It is the th ...

in the

2009 NFL Draft The 2009 NFL Draft was the seventy-fourth annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible football players. The draft took place at Radio City Music Hall in New York City, New York, on April 25 and 26, 2009. ...

, while Casey was drafted in Round 4 of the

2011 NFL Draft The 2011 NFL Draft was the 76th installment of the annual NFL Draft, where the franchises of the National Football League select newly eligible football players. Like the 2010 draft, the 2011 draft was held at Radio City Music Hall in New York ...

by the

Philadelphia Eagles The Philadelphia Eagles are a professional American football team based in Philadelphia. The Eagles compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East division. The team play ...

.Gary Klein
Trojans get ducks in a row up front
''Los Angeles Times'', October 27, 2007, Accessed July 3, 2008.

References

External links

` {{DEFAULTSORT:Matthews, Clay 02 1956 births Living people American football linebackers Atlanta Falcons players Cleveland Browns players USC Trojans football players High school football coaches in California American Conference Pro Bowl players All-American college football players New Trier High School alumni People from Euclid, Ohio People from Winnetka, Illinois Sportspeople from Palo Alto, California Players of American football from California Players of American football from Illinois Matthews football family