Donald J. Matthews, a.k.a. "the Don", (June 22, 1939 – June 14, 2017) was a

head coach A head coach, senior coach, or manager is a professional responsible for training and developing athletes within a sports team. This role often has a higher public profile and salary than other coaching positions. In some sports, such as associat ...

of several professional football teams, mostly in the

Canadian Football League The Canadian Football League (CFL; , LCF) is a Professional gridiron football, professional Canadian football league in Canada. It comprises nine teams divided into two divisions, with four teams in the East Division (CFL), East Division and f ...

(CFL). He won 231 games in the CFL, the second highest win total by a head coach in the league's history while leading four teams to Grey Cup victories. He was inducted into the

Canadian Football Hall of Fame The Canadian Football Hall of Fame (CFHOF) is a not-for-profit corporation, located in Hamilton, Ontario, that celebrates achievements in Canadian football. It is maintained by the Canadian Football League (CFL). It includes displays about the CFL, ...

in September 2011.

Early life and college

Matthews was born in

Amesbury, Massachusetts Amesbury is a city in Essex County, Massachusetts, United States, located on the left bank of the Merrimack River near its mouth, upstream from Salisbury and across the river from Newburyport and West Newbury. The population was 17,366 at the ...

, the son of Canadian-born parents, Ida (Babin), from Tracadie,

New Brunswick New Brunswick is a Provinces and Territories of Canada, province of Canada, bordering Quebec to the north, Nova Scotia to the east, the Gulf of Saint Lawrence to the northeast, the Bay of Fundy to the southeast, and the U.S. state of Maine to ...

, and Fred Matthews, a steel mill worker from

Prince Edward Island Prince Edward Island is an island Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. While it is the smallest province by land area and population, it is the most densely populated. The island has several nicknames: "Garden of the Gulf", ...

. From a large family of limited means and education, he quit high school in Amesbury after his senior season of football in 1956 and served three years in the U.S. Marine Corps.
Portland Tribune
'' - A new game plan for famed coach - 2010-02-11 Matthews returned home and earned his high school diploma and then on the advice of a teacher, ventured west in 1960 as a 21-year-old freshman to

Moscow, Idaho Moscow ( ) is a city and the county seat of Latah County, Idaho. Located in the North Central Idaho, North Central region of the state along the border with Washington (state), Washington, it had a population of 25,435 at the 2020 United States ...

. He walked-on at

Idaho Idaho ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest and Mountain states, Mountain West subregions of the Western United States. It borders Montana and Wyoming to the east, Nevada and Utah to the south, and Washington (state), ...

as a

linebacker Linebacker (LB) is a playing position in gridiron football. Linebackers are members of the defensive team, and typically line up three to five yards behind the line of scrimmage and so back up the defensive linemen. They play closer to the line ...

on the freshman team; he was awarded a

scholarship A scholarship is a form of Student financial aid, financial aid awarded to students for further education. Generally, scholarships are awarded based on a set of criteria such as academic merit, Multiculturalism, diversity and inclusion, athleti ...

by varsity head coach Skip Stahley after his first semester. He earned three letters and was a team captain in his senior season of

1963 Events January * January 1 – Bogle–Chandler case: Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation scientist Dr. Gilbert Bogle and Mrs. Margaret Chandler are found dead (presumed poisoned), in bushland near the Lane Cove ...

, when the Vandals, in their second year under Dee Andros, achieved their first winning season in a quarter century. Matthews graduated from the

University of Idaho The University of Idaho (U of I, or UIdaho) is a public land-grant research university in Moscow, Idaho, United States. Established in 1889 and opened three years later, it was the state's sole university for 71 years, until 1963. The un ...

with a degree in education in 1964.Go Vandals.com
- lifetime achievement - Don Matthews - accessed 2011-10-22

Early career

Matthews was a

graduate assistant A graduate assistant serves in a support role at a university, usually while completing post-graduate education. The assistant typically helps professors with instructional responsibilities as teaching assistants or with academic research resp ...

for the

Vandals The Vandals were a Germanic people who were first reported in the written records as inhabitants of what is now Poland, during the period of the Roman Empire. Much later, in the fifth century, a group of Vandals led by kings established Vand ...

Moscow Moscow is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Russia by population, largest city of Russia, standing on the Moskva (river), Moskva River in Central Russia. It has a population estimated at over 13 million residents with ...

for the

1964 Events January * January 1 – The Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland is dissolved. * January 5 – In the first meeting between leaders of the Roman Catholic and Orthodox churches since the fifteenth century, Pope Paul VI and Patria ...

season under Andros and freshman coach Bud Riley. Matthews then coached

high school football High school football, also known as prep football, is gridiron football played by High school (North America), high school teams in the United States and Canada. It ranks among the most popular high school sports, interscholastic sports in both c ...

Nevada Nevada ( ; ) is a landlocked state in the Western United States. It borders Oregon to the northwest, Idaho to the northeast, California to the west, Arizona to the southeast, and Utah to the east. Nevada is the seventh-most extensive, th ...

at Ely for four years and won a state title. He relocated to

eastern Washington Eastern Washington is the region of the U.S. state of Washington located east of the Cascade Range. It contains the city of Spokane (the second largest city in the state), the Tri-Cities, the Columbia River and the Grand Coulee Dam, the H ...

Spokane Spokane ( ) is the most populous city in eastern Washington and the county seat of Spokane County, Washington, United States. It lies along the Spokane River, adjacent to the Selkirk Mountains, and west of the Rocky Mountain foothills, south ...

in 1969 as head coach at Ferris, where he led the Saxons to the city title in his second and final year. Matthews became a collegiate assistant coach back at his

alma mater Alma mater (; : almae matres) is an allegorical Latin phrase meaning "nourishing mother". It personifies a school that a person has attended or graduated from. The term is related to ''alumnus'', literally meaning 'nursling', which describes a sc ...

1971 * The year 1971 had three partial solar eclipses (Solar eclipse of February 25, 1971, February 25, Solar eclipse of July 22, 1971, July 22 and Solar eclipse of August 20, 1971, August 20) and two total lunar eclipses (February 1971 lunar eclip ...

as offensive line coach (later as offensive coordinator), under second-year head coach

Don Robbins Donald Roy Robbinsacademics.utep.edu ...

. After an start, the Vandals finished at which included an eight-game winning streak, and won the Big Sky title. At the time it was the best record in school history, and three seniors were selected in the 1972 NFL draft. Two years later, Robbins was fired following the

1973 Events January * January 1 – The United Kingdom, the Republic of Ireland and Denmark 1973 enlargement of the European Communities, enter the European Economic Community, which later becomes the European Union. * January 14 - The 16-0 19 ...

season and Matthews moved to the Portland area. He took over a winless program at Sunset High School in Beaverton and won consecutive state championships in 1975 and 1976, going undefeated in his third and final year. He left Sunset after the 1976 season to become a CFL assistant coach in

Edmonton Edmonton is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Alberta. It is situated on the North Saskatchewan River and is the centre of the Edmonton Metropolitan Region, which is surrounded by Central Alberta ...

Alberta Alberta is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province in Canada. It is a part of Western Canada and is one of the three Canadian Prairies, prairie provinces. Alberta is bordered by British Columbia to its west, Saskatchewan to its east, t ...

Pro coaching career

Edmonton Eskimos (first stint)

In 1977, Edmonton Eskimos Head Coach, Hugh Campbell, hired Matthews for his first professional football coaching job. Matthews worked with the team’s linebackers that year. In 1978, Campbell promoted Matthews to defensive coordinator. From 1977 to 1982, Edmonton went to 6 consecutive Grey Cups and won the final 5 in a row. During this time, 3 Edmonton defensive players won the CFL's Most Outstanding Defensive Player Award: Danny Kepley in 1977, 1980, and 1981, Dave "Dr. Death" Fennell in 1978, and James "Quick" Parker in 1982.

BC Lions

1983 1983 saw both the official beginning of the Internet and the first mobile cellular telephone call. Events January * January 1 – The migration of the ARPANET to TCP/IP is officially completed (this is considered to be the beginning of the ...

, Matthews was hired as the head coach of the BC Lions by general manager Bob Ackles. That year, the Lions started playing games at BC Place Stadium. In their first home game of the season, against Saskatchewan, Matthews called for an onside kick on the opening kickoff, and BC recovered. BC finished first in the West, and defeated Winnipeg Blue Bombers in the West Final, which qualified the Lions to play in the Grey Cup in their home stadium. Unfortunately for them, they lost the Grey Cup to the Toronto Argonauts. In

1984 Events January * January 1 – The Bornean Sultanate of Brunei gains full independence from the United Kingdom, having become a British protectorate in 1888. * January 7 – Brunei becomes the sixth member of the Association of Southeas ...

, BC finished first in the West once again. James "Quick" Parker won the CFL's Most Outstanding Defensive Player Award. BC lost the West Final to the eventual champions, the Winnipeg Blue Bombers. In

1985 The year 1985 was designated as the International Youth Year by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 ** The Internet's Domain Name System is created. ** Greenland withdraws from the European Economic Community as a result of a n ...

, BC finished with a league-best 13-3 record. Matthews won his first Coach of the Year Award and Mervyn Fernandez won the CFL's Most Outstanding Player Award. BC defeated the Blue Bombers in the West Final, and won their first Grey Cup since 1964. In 1986, BC finished second in the West Division. Parker once again won the CFL's Most Outstanding Defensive Player Award. BC met Winnipeg in the playoffs at BC Place for the fourth consecutive season, this time in the West Semi-Final. BC defeated Winnipeg, but lost to the first place Edmonton Eskimos in the West Final. In

1987 Events January * January 1 – Bolivia reintroduces the Boliviano currency. * January 2 – Chadian–Libyan conflict – Battle of Fada: The Military of Chad, Chadian army destroys a Libyan armoured brigade. * January 3 – Afghan leader ...

, Matthews started the season as BC's head coach, but was fired during the season and replaced by Larry Donovan.

Edmonton Eskimos (second stint)

Matthews became a defensive assistant coach with Edmonton in

1989 1989 was a turning point in political history with the "Revolutions of 1989" which ended communism in Eastern Bloc of Europe, starting in Poland and Hungary, with experiments in power-sharing coming to a head with the opening of the Berlin W ...

. The Eskimos finished a league-record 16-2. Eight of Edmonton's defensive players were named West Division All-Stars, of whom five were CFL All-Stars. Danny Bass won the CFL's Most Outstanding Defensive Player Award. Edmonton was defeated by Saskatchewan in the West Final.

Toronto Argonauts (first stint)

1990 Important events of 1990 include the Reunification of Germany and the unification of Yemen, the formal beginning of the Human Genome Project (finished in 2003), the launch of the Hubble Space Telescope, the separation of Namibia from South ...

, Matthews was hired by the Toronto Argonauts to be their head coach. He guided the team to second place in the East Division. Mike "Pinball" Clemons won the CFL's Most Outstanding Player Award. The Argonauts lost 20-17 in the East Final to the eventual Grey Cup champion Winnipeg Blue Bombers.

Orlando Thunder

Matthews was the head coach of the

Orlando Thunder The Orlando Thunder was a member of the World League of American Football from 1991 to 1992. The team played their games in the 70,000 seat Florida Citrus Bowl, and was coached by Don Matthews in 1991 and Galen Hall in 1992. The team's most visi ...

of the

World League of American Football NFL Europe League (simply called NFL Europe and known in its final season as NFL Europa) was a professional American football league that functioned as the List of developmental and minor sports leagues, developmental minor league of the Nati ...

in 1991.

Saskatchewan Roughriders

In August 1991, the Saskatchewan Roughriders fired their head coach, John Gregory. Matthews was hired as his replacement. The team missed the playoffs in 1991, but qualified in 1992 and 1993, only to lose both years to Edmonton in the West Semi-Final. In 1992, Kent Austin led the CFL in passing yards, and became the second quarterback in CFL history to pass for 6000 yards in a season. In 1993, Jearld Baylis won the CFL's Most Outstanding Defensive Player Award.

Baltimore CFLers and Stallions

In 1994, the new Baltimore CFL franchise hired Matthews as head coach. Baltimore finished 12-6 and went to the Grey Cup, only to lose to BC in their own stadium. In 1995, Baltimore finished 15-3, and defeated the Calgary Stampeders in the Grey Cup.

Toronto Argonauts (second stint)

1996 1996 was designated as: * International Year for the Eradication of Poverty Events January * January 8 – A Zairean cargo plane crashes into a crowded market in the center of the capital city of the Democratic Republic of the Congo ...

, Matthews coached the Toronto Argonauts to a league-best 15-3 record, reversing their 4-14 record from the year before.

Doug Flutie Douglas Richard Flutie (born October 23, 1962) is an American former professional Gridiron football, football quarterback who played for 21 seasons. He played 12 seasons in the National Football League (NFL), eight seasons in the Canadian Footb ...

won the CFL's Most Outstanding Player Award. They won the Grey Cup against Edmonton and Flutie was the MVP of the game. In

1997 Events January * January 1 – The Emergency Alert System is introduced in the United States. * January 11 – Turkey threatens Cyprus on account of a deal to buy Russian S-300 missiles, prompting the Cypriot Missile Crisis. * January 1 ...

, Matthews coached the Argonauts to a league-best 15-3 record once again. Flutie won the CFL's Most Outstanding Player Award again. Toronto defeated Saskatchewan in the Grey Cup and Flutie was once again name the MVP of the game. In

1998 1998 was designated as the ''International Year of the Ocean''. Events January * January 6 – The ''Lunar Prospector'' spacecraft is launched into orbit around the Moon, and later finds evidence for Lunar water, frozen water, in soil i ...

, the Argonauts finished 9-9. Derrell Mitchell gained exactly 2000 yards receiving. The Argonauts lost the East Semi-Final to the Montreal Alouettes.

Edmonton Eskimos (third stint)

1999 1999 was designated as the International Year of Older Persons. Events January * January 1 – The euro currency is established and the European Central Bank assumes its full powers. * January 3 – The Mars Polar Lander is launc ...

, Matthews was hired by Edmonton for his third stint with the team, but his first as head coach. Edmonton finished 6-12, but was able to qualify for the playoffs for a CFL record 28th consecutive season. Edmonton lost to Calgary in the West Semi-Final. In

2000 2000 was designated as the International Year for the Culture of Peace and the World Mathematics, Mathematical Year. Popular culture holds the year 2000 as the first year of the 21st century and the 3rd millennium, because of a tende ...

, Edmonton improved its record to 10-8 and second place in the West. However, Edmonton would lose in the West Semi Final to the eventual Grey Cup champions, the BC Lions. After coaching the Eskimos for two seasons, Matthews resigned as head coach just prior to the team's first preseason game on June 18, 2001.

Montreal Alouettes

2002 The effects of the September 11 attacks of the previous year had a significant impact on the affairs of 2002. The war on terror was a major political focus. Without settled international law, several nations engaged in anti-terror operation ...

, Matthews was hired by the Montreal Alouettes, and coach the team to a CFL best 13-5 record. The Alouettes won their first Grey Cup since 1977 by defeating Matthews' former team, the Edmonton Eskimos in Edmonton's Commonwealth Stadium. In

2003 2003 was designated by the United Nations as the International Year of Fresh water, Freshwater. In 2003, a Multi-National Force – Iraq, United States-led coalition 2003 invasion of Iraq, invaded Iraq, starting the Iraq War. Demographic ...

, Montreal finished with a league-best 13-5 record again, but lost the Grey Cup this time to Edmonton. In

2004 2004 was designated as an International Year of Rice by the United Nations, and the International Year to Commemorate the Struggle Against Slavery and Its Abolition (by UNESCO). Events January * January 3 – Flash Airlines Flight 60 ...

, Montreal finished with a league-best 14-4 record, but lost the East Final to the eventual Grey Cup champions, the Toronto Argonauts. In

2005 2005 was designated as the International Year for Sport and Physical Education and the International Year of Microcredit. The beginning of 2005 also marked the end of the International Decade of the World's Indigenous Peoples, Internationa ...

, Montreal finished second in the East Division, defeated the Saskatchewan Roughriders in the crossover East Semi-Final, and went into Toronto and defeated the Argonauts in the East Final. In the Grey Cup, the Alouettes lost in overtime to Edmonton. In October

2006 2006 was designated as the International Year of Deserts and Desertification. Events January * January 1– 4 – Russia temporarily cuts shipment of natural gas to Ukraine during a price dispute. * January 12 – A stampede during t ...

, Matthews stepped down as head coach of the Alouettes expressing undisclosed health issues that were "affecting his ability to perform".

Toronto Argonauts (third stint)

Don Matthews returned to Toronto on September 9, 2008, as the interim coach for the Argonauts, after they started the season with a 4–6 record. In that press conference, Matthews revealed that the major health reason that caused him to step down as head coach of the Alouettes was an

anxiety disorder Anxiety disorders are a group of mental disorders characterized by significant and uncontrollable feelings of anxiety and fear such that a person's social, occupational, and personal functions are significantly impaired. Anxiety may cause phys ...

. He also went further to say that he had been prescribed to some medication and the anxiety attacks are now under control. On October 31, 2008, he resigned from the Argonauts a day after the conclusion of the Argonauts 2008 regular season, which saw the Argos fail to win a game in the eight games under his leadership and finishing out of the playoffs for the first time since the 2001 CFL season.

Consultant

In May 2008, Matthews was announced as an advisor to the

Jeff Hunt Jeff Hunt (born April 17, 1964) is a Canadian businessman who is a past co-owner (through the Ottawa Sports and Entertainment Group) of the Ottawa Redblacks football club of the Canadian Football League and the Ottawa 67's hockey club of the ...

-led group's conditional Ottawa franchise. The Montreal Alouettes announced on July 30, 2014, that Matthews had joined the team in a coaching consultant role for the second consecutive year.

Legacy

When Matthews' head coaching career was complete, he was the winningest head coach in CFL history. He won 10 total Grey Cups, 5 of which came when he was an assistant coach in Edmonton. The other 5 came when he was a head coach, which tied the CFL record for most Grey Cup wins as a head coach. Matthews' coaching style in the CFL was termed "living on the edge" by employing “wide open offensive football, and attacking, in-your-face, defensive football.” He wanted to put his players in the right situations by making things simple for them and allowing them to play fast. Under Matthews, three quarterbacks passed for 5000 yards: Kent Austin,

, and

Anthony Calvillo Anthony Calvillo (born August 23, 1972) is an American professional Canadian football, football coach and former quarterback who is currently the offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach for the Montreal Alouettes of the Canadian Football Lea ...

, with Austin and Calvillo each having a 6000 yard season under Matthews. He was selected for induction in the Builder category into the

on February 10, 2011.

Coaching records

Don Matthews holds several head coaching records: *Most

Grey Cup The Grey Cup () is both the championship game of the Canadian Football League (CFL) and the trophy awarded to the victorious team playing in the namesake championship of professional Canadian football. The game is contested between the winners ...

appearances (9 – tied) *Most Grey Cup wins (5 – tied) He also has an additional five Grey Cup titles as defensive co-ordinator of the

Edmonton Eskimos The Edmonton Elks are a professional Canadian football team based in Edmonton, Alberta. The club competes in the Canadian Football League (CFL) as a member of the league's West Division and plays their home games at Commonwealth Stadium. The E ...

CFL head coaching record

:''Source''
justsportsstats.com

Personal

Matthews' mother, Ida, was a

francophone The Francophonie or Francophone world is the whole body of people and organisations around the world who use the French language regularly for private or public purposes. The term was coined by Onésime Reclus in 1880 and became important a ...

from Tracadie, New Brunswick, while his father, Fred, was from

. Had current Canadian nationality laws been in effect in 1939, Matthews would have become a Canadian citizen under the principle of jus sanguines, but separate Canadian citizenship was not enacted until 1947 and was not extended retroactively to anyone born outside the country prior to 1947. In 2004, Matthews became a naturalized Canadian citizen. Matthews had three sons and six grandchildren. He lived in

Beaverton, Oregon Beaverton is a city in the Tualatin Valley, located in Washington County in the U.S. state of Oregon, with a small portion bordering Portland. The city is among the main cities that make up the Portland metropolitan area. Its population was ...

, with his wife Stephanie and stepson Blaze. On November 5, 2012, Matthews announced he was battling cancer and therefore would not be able to participate in any of the festivities for the 100th Grey Cup in Toronto. After a long 5-year battle with cancer, Matthews died on June 14, 2017.

References

External links

Toronto Argonauts profile

Canadian Football Hall of Fame profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Matthews, Don 1939 births 2017 deaths American football linebackers Baltimore Stallions coaches BC Lions coaches Edmonton Elks coaches Idaho Vandals football coaches Idaho Vandals football players Montreal Alouettes coaches Orlando Thunder coaches Saskatchewan Roughriders coaches Toronto Argonauts coaches Toronto Argonauts general managers High school football coaches in Oregon High school football coaches in Nevada High school football coaches in Washington (state) Canadian Football Hall of Fame inductees People from Amesbury, Massachusetts Players of American football from Essex County, Massachusetts American emigrants to Canada American people of Canadian descent Naturalized citizens of Canada Deaths from cancer in Oregon