Frank Louis Mattiace (born January 20, 1961) is an American former professional

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

nose tackle A defensive tackle (DT) is a position in American football that typically lines up on the line of scrimmage, opposite one of the Guard (American football), offensive guards; however, he may also line up opposite one of the offensive Tackle (gridir ...

and coach. He played

college football College football is gridiron football that is played by teams of amateur Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. It was through collegiate competition that gridiron football American football in the United States, firs ...

at Holy Cross, and professionally for the

New Jersey Generals The New Jersey Generals were a franchise of the United States Football League (USFL) established in 1982 to begin play in the spring and summer of 1983. The team played three seasons from 1983 to 1985, winning 31 regular season games and losing ...

of the

United States Football League The United States Football League (USFL) was a professional American football league that played for three seasons, 1983 through 1985. The league played a spring/summer schedule in each of its active seasons. The 1986 season was scheduled to be ...

(USFL) and the

Indianapolis Colts The Indianapolis Colts are a professional American football team based in Indianapolis. The Colts compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC South, South division. Since the 2008 India ...

of the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a Professional gridiron football, professional American football league in the United States. Composed of 32 teams, it is divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National ...

(NFL). He was also the head coach of the

New Jersey Red Dogs The Cleveland Gladiators were an arena football team based in Cleveland, Ohio, and members of the Arena Football League (AFL). The Gladiators played their home games at Quicken Loans Arena, which they shared with the Cleveland Cavaliers of the N ...

of the

Arena Football League The Arena Football League (AFL) was a professional arena football league in the United States. It was founded in 1986, but played its first official games in the 1987 Arena Football League season, 1987 season, making it the third longest-runnin ...

(AFL).

Early life and college

Mattiace was born in

Paterson, New Jersey Paterson ( ) is the largest City (New Jersey), city in and the county seat of Passaic County, New Jersey, Passaic County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey.Montville Township High School Montville Township High School is a four-year comprehensive public high school located in Montville Township, in suburban Morris County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. The school was founded in 1971 and serves students in ninth through twel ...

Montville, New Jersey Montville is a township in Morris County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2020 United States census, the township's population was 22,450, an increase of 922 (+4.3%) from the 2010 census count of 21,528, which in turn reflected an ...

. He played

for the

Holy Cross Crusaders The Holy Cross Crusaders are the athletic teams representing the College of the Holy Cross. They compete in NCAA Division I, primarily as members of the Patriot League. In ice hockey, a sport not sponsored by the Patriot League for either sex, th ...

. He earned All- ECAC and honorable mention

All-American The All-America designation is an annual honor bestowed on outstanding athletes in the United States who are considered to be among the best athletes in their respective sport. Individuals receiving this distinction are typically added to an Al ...

honors his senior year in 1982.

Professional career

After going undrafted in the

1983 NFL draft The 1983 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 April 26–27, 1983, at the New York Sh ...

, Mattiace signed with 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 of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. They ar ...

on July 19, 1983. He was waived by the Packers on August 29, 1983. Mattiace played for the

of the

(USFL) from 1984 to 1985. Mattiace appeared in 17 games, starting two, for the Generals in 1984 and recorded three sacks. He played in 17 games again during the 1985 season, totaling three sacks. Mattiace re-signed with the Generals in June 1986 but the

1986 USFL season The 1986 USFL season would have been the fourth season of the United States Football League. Plans and a schedule had been set for a 1986 season, which (unlike the previous three seasons, which were played in spring) would have played in the aut ...

was later cancelled. He was signed by the

Detroit Lions The Detroit Lions are a professional American football team based in Detroit. The Lions compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. The team plays their home game ...

of the NFL on March 4, 1987. He was waived by the team on August 26, 1987. On September 23, 1987, Mattiace signed with the NFL's

as a replacement player during the

1987 NFL players strike The National Football League Players Association (NFLPA) is the labor union representing National Football League (NFL) players. The NFLPA, which has headquarters in Washington, D.C., is led by executive director Lloyd Howell Jr. and president ...

. He played in three games for the Colts and made one sack before being waived on October 19, 1987.

Coaching career

Mattiace began his coaching career in 1987, coaching at several high schools and also serving a stint as an assistanct coach at

Montclair State Montclair State University (MSU) is a Public university, public research university in Montclair, New Jersey, with parts of the campus extending into Clifton, New Jersey, Clifton and into Little Falls, New Jersey, Little Falls. As of fall 2018, ...

, before joining the

of the

(AFL) as offensive line coach in 1997. He returned to high school coaching in 1998. In 1999, Mattiace was hired as the head coach and general manager of the New Jersey Red Dogs. The Red Dogs had a 6–8 regular season record in 1999. He was fired in 2000 after beginning the season with a 3–7 record. He again returned to high school coaching in 2000.

Head coaching record

Personal life

A resident of

, Mattiace has spent time as a substance abuse counselor and the executive director of the New Pathway Counseling Service in New Jersey. He has counseled former NFL players who had painkiller addictions.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mattiace, Frank 1961 births Living people American football defensive tackles Holy Cross Crusaders football players Green Bay Packers players New Jersey Generals players Detroit Lions players Indianapolis Colts players High school football coaches in New Jersey Montclair State Red Hawks football coaches Cleveland Gladiators coaches Arena Football League executives Montville Township High School alumni Sportspeople from Montville, New Jersey Players of American football from Paterson, New Jersey Coaches of American football from New Jersey NFL replacement players