Matthew A. Dyson (born August 1, 1972) is an

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 with ...

coach and a former player. He is currently the

head coach A head coach, senior coach or manager is a professional at training and developing athletes. They typically hold a more public profile and are paid more than other coaches. In some sports, the head coach is instead called the "manager", as in assoc ...

of the

George Mason University George Mason University (George Mason, Mason, or GMU) is a public research university in Fairfax County, Virginia with an independent City of Fairfax, Virginia postal address in the Washington, D.C. Metropolitan Area. The university was origin ...

football team. He played

college football College football (french: Football universitaire) refers to gridiron football played by teams of student athletes. It was through college football play that American football rules first gained popularity in the United States. Unlike most ...

as an

outside 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, ...

for the

University of Michigan , mottoeng = "Arts, Knowledge, Truth" , former_names = Catholepistemiad, or University of Michigania (1817–1821) , budget = $10.3 billion (2021) , endowment = $17 billion (2021)As o ...

from 1991 to 1994. He was selected as a first-team All-Big Ten linebacker as well as Honorable Mention All-American in 1992. He was the defensive player of the game in the 1994 Holiday Bowl. He was selected by the

Oakland Raiders The Oakland Raiders were a professional American football team that played in Oakland from its founding in 1960 to 1981 and again from 1995 to 2019 before relocating to the Las Vegas metropolitan area where they now play as the Las Vegas Raide ...

in the fifth round of the

1995 NFL Draft The 1995 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 22–23, 1995 at the Paramount Th ...

and appeared in four games during the

1995 Oakland Raiders season The Oakland Raiders season was the franchise's 26th season in the National Football League, the 36th overall, and their first back in Oakland since 1981. The Raiders announced their return to Oakland on June 25, 1995, and the Alameda County Boa ...

Early years

Dyson was born in

La Plata, Maryland La Plata is a town in Charles County, Maryland, United States. The population was 10,159 at the 2020 census. It is the county seat of Charles County. History According to an unconfirmed local story, the town was named by one Colonel Samuel Chapm ...

, in 1972. He attended

La Plata High School La Plata High School is part of the Charles County Public Schools and is located in La Plata, Maryland, United States. The current school was built in 1979. Before that, it was in the building (built in 1964) which now holds Milton M. Somers Mid ...

. While attending La Plata High School, Dyson competed in football, basketball, soccer, and track and field. He was a running back and defensive end for the La Plata football team.

University of Michigan

Dyson enrolled at the

in 1990 and played

as an

for the

Michigan Wolverines football The Michigan Wolverines football team represents the University of Michigan in college football at the NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision level. Michigan has the most all-time wins in college football history. The team is known for its ...

teams from 1991 to 1994. After redshirting in 1990, Dyson started two games at outside linebacker in 1991, 10 games in 1992, nine games in 1993, and eight games in 1994. As a redshirt sophomore, Dyson recorded 52 tackles and an interception for the undefeated

1992 Michigan Wolverines football team The 1992 Michigan Wolverines football team represented the University of Michigan in the 1992 NCAA Division I-A football season. The team's head coach was Gary Moeller. The Wolverines played their home games at Michigan Stadium. The team went und ...

that compiled a 9–0–3 and defeated

Washington Washington commonly refers to: * Washington (state), United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A metonym for the federal government of the United States ** Washington metropolitan area, the metropolitan area centered on ...

in the

1993 Rose Bowl The 1993 Rose Bowl was a college football bowl game played on January 1, 1993, at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, California. In the 79th Rose Bowl; the #7 Michigan Wolverines, champions of the Big Ten, defeated the ninth-ranked Washington Huskies, c ...

. At the end of the 1992 season, Dyson was selected as a first-team All-Big Ten linebacker. As a senior, he sustained a broken left foot in the 1994 season opener against

Boston College Boston College (BC) is a private Jesuit research university in Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts. Founded in 1863, the university has more than 9,300 full-time undergraduates and nearly 5,000 graduate students. Although Boston College is classifie ...

, and missed the following three games before returning to action against

Michigan State Michigan State University (Michigan State, MSU) is a public land-grant research university in East Lansing, Michigan. It was founded in 1855 as the Agricultural College of the State of Michigan, the first of its kind in the United States. It i ...

. In his final game for Michigan, Dyson was selected as the defensive player of the game in the Wolverines' 24-14 victory over

Colorado State Colorado State University (Colorado State or CSU) is a public land-grant research university in Fort Collins, Colorado. It is the flagship university of the Colorado State University System. Colorado State University is classified among "R1: ...

in the 1994 Holiday Bowl. In four seasons at Michigan, Dyson totaled 124 tackles, two pass breakups, one interception and one fumble recovery.(to retrieve Dyson's statistics, enter "dyson" in the box for the player's last name)

Professional football

Dyson was selected by the

in the fifth round (138th overall pick) of the

. He appeared in four games, none of them as a starter, for the Raiders during the 1995 season.

Coaching career

After retiring from his playing career, Dyson worked as a coach. He was the defensive and offensive line coach and assistant defensive coordinator for the

Falls Church High School Falls Church High School (FCHS) is a high school located in West Falls Church, Virginia, in unincorporated Fairfax County.Falls Church, Virginia Falls Church is an independent city (United States), independent city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Virginia. As of the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census, the population was 14,658. Falls Church is included in the Wash ...

. He has also served as the head coach of the Falls Church track and field team. He has been the head coach of the

football team for seven years.

Personal

Dyson lives in

Gainesville, Virginia Gainesville is a census-designated place (CDP) in western Prince William County, Virginia, United States. The population was 17,287 in the 2020 census. History Gainesville was once a changing point for stagecoach horses on the Fauquier & Alexan ...

. He and his wife, Sara, have three daughters.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Dyson, Matt 1972 births Living people American football linebackers George Mason Patriots football coaches Michigan Wolverines football players Oakland Raiders players High school football coaches in Virginia People from La Plata, Maryland People from Gainesville, Virginia Sportspeople from Prince William County, Virginia Players of American football from Maryland