Michael Chester "Mickey" Matthews (born November 8, 1953) is a former

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. He served as the head football coach at

James Madison University James Madison University (JMU, Madison, or James Madison) is a public research university in Harrisonburg, Virginia. Founded in 1908 as the State Normal and Industrial School for Women at Harrisonburg, the institution was renamed Madison Coll ...

(JMU) from 1999 to 2013, compiling a record of 109–71. Matthews coached the

2004 James Madison Dukes football team The 2004 James Madison Dukes football team represented James Madison University in the 2004 NCAA Division I-AA football season, and completed the 32nd season of Dukes football. They were led by head coach Mickey Matthews and played their home g ...

to an

NCAA Division I-AA Football Championship The NCAA Division I Football Championship is an annual post-season college football game, played since 2006, used to determine a national champion of the NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision (FCS). From 1978 to 2005, the game was k ...

Early coaching career

Matthews started his coaching career as an assistant coach at

Lamar Consolidated High School Lamar Consolidated High School is a grades 9–12 school located in Rosenberg, Texas, United States. The school, which serves the City of Richmond, parts of Rosenberg, and unincorporated areas of Fort Bend County, is a part of the Lamar Consolida ...

, in Texas, working with offensive backs. During the 1978 season, he joined

Kansas State University Kansas State University (KSU, Kansas State, or K-State) is a public land-grant research university with its main campus in Manhattan, Kansas, United States. It was opened as the state's land-grant college in 1863 and was the first public instit ...

, as an assistant coach. During the 1980 and 1981 seasons, he served as the

defensive coordinator A defensive coordinator is a coach responsible for a gridiron football (American football) team's defense. Generally, the defensive coordinator, the offensive coordinator and the special teams coordinator represent the second level of a team's c ...

at his alma mater, West Texas State—now known as

West Texas A&M University West Texas A&M University (WTAMU or WT) is a public university in Canyon, Texas. It is the northernmost campus of the Texas A&M University System and accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (SACS). It was established on Se ...

. From 1982 to 1985, he was an assistant coach at the

University of Texas at El Paso The University of Texas at El Paso (UTEP) is a public research university in El Paso, Texas. It is a member of the University of Texas System. UTEP is the second-largest university in the United States to have a majority Mexican American stud ...

(UTEP). In the following 1986 season, he worked at the

University of Houston The University of Houston (UH) is a Public university, public research university in Houston, Texas. Founded in 1927, UH is a member of the University of Houston System and the List of universities in Texas by enrollment, university in Texas ...

as a defensive backs coach. In the 1987 season, he held that same position at

Texas Christian University Texas Christian University (TCU) is a private research university in Fort Worth, Texas. It was established in 1873 by brothers Addison and Randolph Clark as the Add-Ran Male & Female College. It is affiliated with the Christian Church (Disciples ...

(TCU). During the 1988 and 1989 seasons, he coached at Southwest Texas State University—now known as

Texas State University Texas State University is a public research university in San Marcos, Texas. Since its establishment in 1899, the university has grown to the second largest university in the Greater Austin metropolitan area and the fifth largest university ...

. From 1990 to 1995, he served as the assistant head coach at

Marshall University Marshall University is a public research university in Huntington, West Virginia. It was founded in 1837 and is named after John Marshall, the fourth Chief Justice of the United States. The university is currently composed of nine colleges: L ...

. From 1996 to 1998 he coached defensive backs and linebackers at the

University of Georgia , mottoeng = "To teach, to serve, and to inquire into the nature of things.""To serve" was later added to the motto without changing the seal; the Latin motto directly translates as "To teach and to inquire into the nature of things." , establ ...

. The

Georgia Bulldogs The Georgia Bulldogs are the athletic teams that represent the University of Georgia. The female athletic teams are sometimes referred to as Lady Bulldogs. The Bulldogs compete in NCAA Division I and are members of the Southeastern Conference ( ...

won two

bowl game In North America, a bowl game is one of a number of post-season college football games that are primarily played by teams belonging to the NCAA's Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS). For most of its history, the Division I Bowl Subdivis ...

s during his tenure. At Georgia, Matthews coached

Champ Bailey Roland "Champ" Bailey Jr. (born June 22, 1978) is an American former professional football player who was a cornerback in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Georgia Bulldogs, where he earned consensus All-A ...

, a consensus selection to the

1998 College Football All-America Team The 1998 College Football All-America Team is composed of the following All-American Teams: Associated Press, Football Writers Association of America, American Football Coaches Association, Walter Camp Foundation, ''The Sporting News'' and ''Foot ...

and the

Washington Redskins The Washington Commanders are a professional American football team based in the Washington metropolitan area. The Commanders compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) N ...

first-round choice in the

1999 NFL Draft The 1999 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 17–18, 1999, at the Theater at M ...

. Matthews left Georgia in January 1999 to become the defensive coordinator at

Baylor University Baylor University is a private Baptist Christian research university in Waco, Texas. Baylor was chartered in 1845 by the last Congress of the Republic of Texas. Baylor is the oldest continuously operating university in Texas and one of the fir ...

, but resigned two months later to take the head coaching position at

Career at James Madison

From 1999 to 2013, Matthews was the head coach at James Madison University. The team had gone 3–8 in the year before, but Matthews turned them around that season and led them to an 8–4 record, an

Atlantic 10 Conference The Atlantic 10 Conference (A-10) is a collegiate athletic conference whose schools compete in the National Collegiate Athletic Association's (NCAA) Division I. The A-10's member schools are located in states mostly on the United States Eastern ...

title, and the school's first postseason appearance since 1995. Matthews won the

Eddie Robinson Award The Eddie Robinson Award is awarded annually to college football's top head coach in the NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision (formerly Division I-AA). The award was established by The Sports Network, since merged into Stats Perform, ...

that year, annually given to the top head coach in NCAA Division I-AA football. Five years later, after failing to make the postseason four years in a row, the Dukes finally made the playoffs again. They became the first team to win three straight road games on the way to an

, defeating the

Montana Grizzlies The Montana Grizzlies and Lady Griz are the nicknames given to the athletic teams of the University of Montana, located in Missoula, Montana, Missoula. The university is a member of the Big Sky Conference and competes in NCAA Division I, fieldin ...

, 31–21, in the 2004 Championship Game. The Dukes made the playoffs again in 2006 and 2007, losing in the first round each time. On February 25, 2008, amidst rumors that he might leave James Madison to help start the football program at the

University of South Alabama The University of South Alabama (USA) is a public research university in Mobile, Alabama. It was created by the Alabama Legislature in May, 1963, and replaced existing extension programs operated in Mobile by the University of Alabama. The first ...

, Matthews signed an extension with JMU to coach through the 2012 season. On September 27, 2008, JMU beat University of Maine 24–10, earning Matthews his 68th career win at JMU to become the school's all-time winningest coach. On November 22, 2008, the Matthews led Dukes defeated

Towson University Towson University (TU or Towson) is a public university in Towson, Maryland. Founded in 1866 as Maryland's first training school for teachers, Towson University is a part of the University System of Maryland. Since its founding, the university h ...

to finish conference play undefeated, winning the CAA outright and qualifying for their third straight FCS playoff appearance. On January 7, 2010, Matthews signed a one-year extension to his contract which extended through the 2013 season. During the 2012 season, Matthews gained his 100th career win in a hard-fought, 13–10 victory against conference foe

Towson Towson () is an unincorporated community and a census-designated place in Baltimore County, Maryland, United States. The population was 55,197 as of the 2010 census. It is the county seat of Baltimore County and the second-most populous unincorp ...

. On November 25, 2013, JMU athletic director Jeff Bourne announced that Matthews had been fired. This came after the Dukes finished the 2013 season 6–6 and missed the FCS playoffs for the fourth time since advancing to the NCAA Semifinals in 2008.

2010 Virginia Tech victory

On September 11, 2010, the Dukes upset then #13

Virginia Tech Virginia Tech (formally the Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University and informally VT, or VPI) is a Public university, public Land-grant college, land-grant research university with its main campus in Blacksburg, Virginia. It also ...

, 21–16 in front of 66,233 at

Lane Stadium Lane Stadium is a college football stadium in the eastern United States, located on the campus of Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University (Virginia Tech) in Blacksburg, Virginia. The playing surface of the stadium is named Worsham Fi ...

in Blacksburg. James Madison became the second FCS team in college football history to knock off a ranked FBS opponent, the other being

Appalachian State Appalachian State University (; Appalachian, App State, App, or ASU) is a public university in Boone, North Carolina. It was founded as a teachers college in 1899 by brothers B. B. and D. D. Dougherty and the latter's wife, Lillie Shull Dough ...

over then #5

Michigan Michigan () is a state in the Great Lakes region of the upper Midwestern United States. With a population of nearly 10.12 million and an area of nearly , Michigan is the 10th-largest state by population, the 11th-largest by area, and the ...

in 2007. Later that season the Hokies went on to win the ACC Championship and finished ranked #15, making the JMU upset even more remarkable, especially considering that the Dukes finished the season with a 6–5 record (5–5 against FCS competition). After the game, Matthews referred to the victory as "the biggest win in my professional career"—even bigger than the 2004 national championship.

Post-JMU career

After his firing, Matthews joined

Coastal Carolina Coastal Carolina University (CCU or Coastal) is a public university in Conway, South Carolina. Founded in 1954 as Coastal Carolina Junior College, and later joining the University of South Carolina System as USC Coastal Carolina, it became an in ...

as defensive coordinator in 2016. On December 7, 2017, he announced his retirement from coaching. In 2019, he was hired by

Dallas Renegades The Arlington Renegades are a professional American football team based in Arlington, Texas. The team was founded as the Dallas Renegades by Vince McMahon’s Alpha Entertainment and is an owned-and-operated member of the new XFL owned by Dwayne ...

head coach

Bob Stoops Robert Anthony Stoops (born September 9, 1960) is an American football coach. He was the head football coach at the University of Oklahoma from 1999 through the 2016 season, and on an interim basis during the 2021 Alamo Bowl. He led the Oklahoma ...

as linebackers and defensive quality control coach.

Head coaching record

References

External links

James Madison profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Matthews, Mickey 1953 births Living people Coastal Carolina Chanticleers football coaches Dallas Renegades coaches Houston Cougars football coaches James Madison Dukes football coaches Kansas State Wildcats football coaches Marshall Thundering Herd football coaches TCU Horned Frogs football coaches UTEP Miners football coaches Georgia Bulldogs football coaches Texas State Bobcats football coaches West Texas A&M Buffaloes football players Texas Christian University alumni People from Andrews, Texas