Matthew Rahn (born January 14, 1982) is a retired

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

player and since 2020, the acting head coach of the

College of DuPage College of DuPage is a Public college, public community colleges in the United States, community college with its main campus in Glen Ellyn, Illinois. The college also owns and operates satellite campuses in Addison, Illinois, Addison, Carol St ...

Chaparrals football team.

College career

Rahn attended the

, where he was a member of the football team. His play earned him a scholarship to

Hastings College Hastings College is a private Presbyterian college in Hastings, Nebraska. History The college was founded in 1882 by a group of men and women seeking to establish a Presbyterian college. Academics The college offers more than 40 underg ...

Nebraska Nebraska ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders South Dakota to the north; Iowa to the east and Missouri to the southeast, both across the Missouri River; Ka ...

Professional career

Chicago Slaughter

In 2007, Rahn began playing professionally for the

Chicago Slaughter The Chicago Slaughter were an American professional football team based in Hoffman Estates, Illinois. Having been inactive since 2013, the franchise was a part of the CIFL from 2007 to 2009, winning the championship in 2009. The Slaughter joine ...

of the

Continental Indoor Football League The Continental Indoor Football League (CIFL) was an indoor American football, indoor American football, football league based along the Midwestern United States region that played nine seasons from 2006 to 2014. It began play in April 2006 as ...

. The Slaughter was in its inaugural season led by ex-

Chicago Bears The Chicago Bears are a professional American football team based in Chicago. The Bears compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. They are one of two remaining ...

player,

Steve McMichael Stephen Douglas McMichael (October 17, 1957 – April 23, 2025), nicknamed "Mongo", "Ming", and "Ming the Merciless", was an American professional football player and professional wrestler. He was a defensive tackle for 15 seasons in the Natio ...

. Rahn played nose tackle.

Milwaukee Bonecrushers

In 2008, Rahn played for the

Milwaukee Bonecrushers The Chicago Knights were a professional indoor football team based in Loves Park, Illinois. The Knights were founded in 2010 as a member of the Continental Indoor Football League (CIFL), playing their home games at the Victory Sports Complex. ...

of the CIFL, where he was moved to primarily Guard and Tight end, as well as reserve defensive lineman.

Rock River Raptors

In 2009, Rahn played for the

Rock River Raptors The Rock River Raptors were a professional indoor football team based in Rockford, Illinois. The team was most recently a member of the Continental Indoor Football League. The franchise was established in 2000 as the Tennessee Valley Vipers, a ...

of the

Chicago Cardinals

In 2010, Rahn played for the

Chicago Cardinals The professional American football team now known as the Arizona Cardinals previously played in Chicago, Illinois, as the Chicago Cardinals from 1898 to 1959 before relocating to St. Louis, Missouri, for the 1960 through 1987 seasons. Roots ca ...

also of the CIFL.

Wisconsin Wolfpack

Because of financial reasons, Rahn opted out of his contract with the Cardinals to find a better opportunity. He signed with the Wisconsin Wolfpack, who would eventually play in the 2010

CIFL Championship Game The CIFL championship game was the annual championship game of the Continental Indoor Football League (CIFL). In 2006, it was the meeting of the two semifinal game winners. Following the 2007 and 2008 season, the game was between the Great Lakes ...

, where they lost to the

Cincinnati Commandos The Cincinnati Commandos were a professional indoor football team based in Cincinnati, Ohio. The team suspended operations for the 2013 season, with hope of returning in 2014. They began play in 2010 as an expansion team in the Continental Ind ...

54–40. He was named a 1st Team All-CIFL lineman at the end of the season.

Cuiabá Arsenal

In 2010, Rahn signed with the Cuiabá Arsenal in

Brazil Brazil, officially the Federative Republic of Brazil, is the largest country in South America. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by area, fifth-largest country by area and the List of countries and dependencies by population ...

. They won the 2010 national championship, and finished second in 2011.

Northern Kentucky River Monsters

In 2011, Rahn signed with the Northern Kentucky River Monsters of the

Ultimate Indoor Football League The Ultimate Indoor Football League (UIFL) was a regional professional indoor football league that began its inaugural season on February 18, 2011 as the Ultimate Indoor Football League before playing as the United Indoor Football League in 2012 ...

. He was named 1st Team All-UIFL Offensive Lineman, while helping his team to an 11–3 regular season record.

Cleveland Gladiators

Rahn signed with the

Cleveland Gladiators 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 ...

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 ...

for the 2012 season.

Omaha Beef

Rahn signed with the Omaha Beef in the middle of the 2012 season. He then played the 2013 and 2014 seasons with them also.

Sioux City Bandits

Rahn played the 2015 and 2016 season with the

Sioux City Bandits The Sioux City Bandits are a professional indoor football team based in Sioux City, Iowa, and compete as a member of National Arena League (NAL). The team was founded in 1999 as the Sioux City Attack. In 2001, the team assumed their current nam ...

Champions Indoor Football Champions Indoor Football (CIF) was a professional indoor American football minor league created in 2014 out of the merger between the Champions Professional Indoor Football League (CPIFL) and Lone Star Football League (LSFL), plus one team fr ...

. On February 22, 2017, in late February Rahn was talked out of retirement and re-signed for the 2017 season. Rahn signed back with the Sioux City Bandits for the 2018 season, as the oldest player in the league helped his team to the Championship game while earning First Team CIF North honors.

Coaching career

Since 2020, Matt has been the acting head coach of the

Chaparrals football team.

Head coaching record

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Rahn, Matt 1982 births Living people Players of American football from Wheaton, Illinois Cleveland Gladiators players Northern Kentucky River Monsters players Chicago Cardinals (CIFL) players Chicago Slaughter players Wisconsin Wolfpack players Chicago Blitz (indoor football) players Omaha Beef players Sioux City Bandits players DuPage Chaparrals football players DuPage Chaparrals football coaches American expatriate players of American football American expatriate sportspeople in Brazil