Matthew Daniels (born September 27, 1989) is a former American football

safety Safety is the state of being "safe", the condition of being protected from harm or other danger. Safety can also refer to the control of recognized hazards in order to achieve an acceptable level of risk. Meanings There are two slightly dif ...

and current

special teams In American football, the specific role that a player takes on the field is referred to as their "position". Under the modern rules of American football, both teams are allowed 11 players on the field at one time and have "unlimited free substitu ...

coach of the

Minnesota Vikings The Minnesota Vikings are a professional American football team based in Minneapolis. They compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the National Football Conference (NFC) North division. Founded in 1960 as an expansi ...

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 ...

(NFL). He was signed by the

St. Louis Rams The St. Louis Rams were a professional American football team of the National Football League (NFL). They played in St. Louis from 1995 to the 2015 season, before moving back to Los Angeles, where the team had played from 1946 to 1994. The arr ...

as an

undrafted free agent In professional sports, a free agent is a player who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under contract at present but who is a ...

in 2012. Daniels played college football for

Duke Duke is a male title either of a monarch ruling over a duchy, or of a member of royalty, or nobility. As rulers, dukes are ranked below emperors, kings, grand princes, grand dukes, and sovereign princes. As royalty or nobility, they are rank ...

College career

Daniels played college football for the Duke University Blue Devils. In 2008, as a true freshman, he played in 10 games with one start and finished the year with 22 tackles, one INT and one fumble recovery. In 2009 the Sophomore safety was an Academic All-ACC selection and started all 12 games and finished third on the team and 18th in the

ACC ACC most often refers to: * Atlantic Coast Conference, an NCAA Division I collegiate athletic conference located in the US *American College of Cardiology, A US-based nonprofit medical association that bestows credentials upon cardiovascular spec ...

with 83 tackles and added 3.0 tackles for loss, 0.5 quarterback sacks, six pass breakups and three caused fumbles. In 2010, his junior season, Daniels was again an Academic All-ACC choice and started all 12 games and finished second on the team with 93 total tackles and added 6.0 tackles for loss, seven PBUs, three caused fumbles, two fumble recoveries and one INT. In his Senior Year, 2011, Daniels was a Second-team All-American and finished with 126 tackles. He graduated Duke as the school's all-time leader in several key defensive categories such as

tackles Tackle may refer to: * In football: ** Tackle (football move), a play in various forms of football ** Tackle (gridiron football position), a position in American football and Canadian football ** Dump tackle, a forceful move in rugby of picking u ...

, caused fumbles, and pass breakups.

Professional career

St. Louis Rams

In 2012, he was signed by the Rams as an

. He was released on August 26, 2014. He was signed to the Rams practice squad on September 1, 2014. He was released on September 3, 2014 to make room for Brad Smelley.

Jacksonville Jaguars

Daniels was signed to the Jaguars practice squad on October 27, 2014. He was promoted to the active roster on December 17. He was waived with an injury settlement on September 1, 2015.

San Diego Chargers

On November 4, 2015, the San Diego Chargers signed Daniels to the practice squad. On December 28, 2015, the San Diego Chargers promoted Daniels to the 53-man roster.

Coaching career

In 2017, Daniels was a defensive graduate assistant coach at

Colorado Colorado (, other variants) is a state in the Mountain states, Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It encompasses most of the Southern Rocky Mountains, as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the wes ...

. On February 26, 2018, the Los Angeles Rams announced that they had added Daniels to their coaching staff, hiring him as assistant special teams coach. Daniels played with the Rams under current

special teams coordinator In American football, the specific role that a player takes on the field is referred to as their "position". Under the modern rules of American football, both teams are allowed 11 players on the field at one time and have "unlimited free substitu ...

John Fassel John Fassel (born January 10, 1974) is an American football coach who is the special teams coordinator for the Dallas Cowboys of the National Football League (NFL). He was previously the special teams coordinator and interim head coach for the ...

in the recent past. After the 2019 season, he served as assistant special teams coach for the

Dallas Cowboys The Dallas Cowboys are a professional American football team based in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. The Cowboys compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East divi ...

. After two seasons there, he joined the

as the special teams coach in 2022.

References

External links

Duke profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Daniels, Matthew 1989 births Living people American football safeties Dallas Cowboys coaches Duke Blue Devils football players Jacksonville Jaguars players Los Angeles Rams coaches San Diego Chargers players St. Louis Rams players People from Fayetteville, Georgia Players of American football from Tucson, Arizona Sportspeople from the Atlanta metropolitan area Coaches of American football from Georgia (U.S. state) Players of American football from Georgia (U.S. state) African-American coaches of American football African-American players of American football 21st-century African-American sportspeople 20th-century African-American people Minnesota Vikings coaches