William Clay Matthews Jr. (born March 15, 1956) 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 ...

player who was a

linebacker Linebacker (LB) is a playing position in gridiron football. Linebackers are members of the defensive team, and typically line up three to five yards behind the line of scrimmage and so back up the defensive linemen. They play closer to the line ...

for the

Cleveland Browns The Cleveland Browns are a professional American football team based in Cleveland. The Browns compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC North, North division. The team is named after ...

and the

Atlanta Falcons The Atlanta Falcons are a professional American football team based in Atlanta. The Falcons compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC South, South division. The Falcons were founded o ...

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 selected in the first round of the

1978 NFL draft The 1978 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 May 2–3, 1978, at the Roosevelt Hotel ...

by the Browns and played in 278 games over 19 NFL seasons, which initially ranked him at number 17 among most games played (currently at number 21, see

List of NFL players by games played Playing in the NFL is one of the most physically demanding sports. The players are exposed to many hard hits and are often deadly. This plus given the fact the NFL is highly competitive, and there is a large group of talented players wanting to ...

).NFL Career Games Leaders
/ref> Matthews had 1,561 tackles in his career, unofficially the third most in NFL history trailing

Jessie Tuggle Jessie Lloyd Tuggle Jr. (born April 4, 1965) is an American former professional football player who spent his entire career as a linebacker for the Atlanta Falcons of the National Football League (NFL) from 1987 to 2000. He played college footb ...

and

Ray Lewis Raymond Anthony Lewis Jr. (born May 15, 1975) is an American former professional football player who spent his entire 17-year career as a linebacker for the Baltimore Ravens of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football f ...

.NFL Career Tackles Leaders
/ref> Matthews is the father of

Clay Matthews III William Clay Matthews III (born May 14, 1986), primarily known as Clay Matthews, is an American former professional American football, football player who was a linebacker in the National Football League (NFL). The six-time Pro Bowl selection a ...

, an

All-Pro All-Pro is an honor bestowed upon professional American football players that designates the best player at each position during a given season. All-Pro players are typically selected by press organizations, who select an "All-Pro team," a list t ...

linebacker and Super Bowl Champion, and

Casey Matthews Casey Christopher Matthews (born January 16, 1989) is an American former professional American football, football linebacker. He was selected by the Philadelphia Eagles in the fourth round of the 2011 NFL draft. He played college football at Ore ...

, a former American football linebacker; brother of

Hall of Fame A hall, wall, or walk of fame is a list of individuals, achievements, or other entities, usually chosen by a group of electors, to mark their excellence or Wiktionary:fame, fame in their field. In some cases, these halls of fame consist of actu ...

offensive lineman Bruce Matthews.

Early life and college

Matthews was born into a football family. His father, Clay Matthews Sr., played for the NFL in the 1950s. In 1974, Matthews graduated from New Trier East High School in Winnetka, Illinois. He and his younger brother,

Bruce The English language name Bruce arrived in Scotland with the Normans, from the place name Brix, Manche in Normandy, France, meaning "the willowlands". Initially promulgated via the descendants of king Robert the Bruce (1274−1329), it has been ...

, both attended college at the

University of Southern California The University of Southern California (USC, SC, or Southern Cal) is a Private university, private research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Founded in 1880 by Robert M. Widney, it is the oldest private research university in ...

, where both played on the

USC Trojans football The USC Trojans football program represents the University of Southern California in the sport of American football. The Trojans compete in the NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision, Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) of the National Collegiate ...

team.

Professional career

Matthews was drafted by the Cleveland Browns with the 12th pick in the first round of the

. He was a four-time selection for the

Pro Bowl The National Football League All-Star Game (1939–1942), Pro Bowl (1951–2022), or Pro Bowl Games (since 2023) is an annual event held by the National Football League (NFL) featuring the league's All-star, star players. The format has changed ...

with the Browns and was a cornerstone of the defense for well over a decade. In 1984, Matthews recorded 12.0 sacks. He was present at some infamous Browns playoff losses during the 1980s, known as

Red Right 88 In American football, Red Right 88 is the name given to a passing play called by the Cleveland Browns during a National Football League (NFL) playoff game against the Oakland Raiders on January 4, 1981. In the years since, the term has been used ...

(1981), The Drive (1987), and

The Fumble In American football, The Fumble is a play that occurred during the 1987 AFC Championship Game between the Cleveland Browns and Denver Broncos on January 17, 1988, at Mile High Stadium in Denver, Colorado. The fumble occurred late in the four ...

(1988), which stopped those Browns teams from potentially advancing to the

Super Bowl The Super Bowl is the annual History of the NFL championship, league championship game of the National Football League (NFL) of the United States. It has served as the final game of every NFL season since 1966 NFL season, 1966 (with the excep ...

. One of his most memorable moments as a Brown was in a playoff game against the Bills on January 6, 1990. With only seconds left in the fourth quarter and the Bills at the Browns' 11-yard line, Matthews intercepted a pass (at the one-yard line) thrown by Bills quarterback

Jim Kelly James Edward Kelly (born February 14, 1960) is an American former professional football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 11 seasons with the Buffalo Bills. He also spent two seasons with the Houston Gamblers o ...

to seal a Cleveland victory. After the 1993 season, Matthews signed with the

. In 1995, at the age of 39, Matthews started all 16 games for the Falcons and set a record as the oldest player to record a sack at the age of 40 years, 282 days. Matthews was named the AFC Defensive Player of the Week twice on the Cleveland Browns (Week 12, 1984 and Week 9, 1991). Matthews and his son, Clay III, are the only father-son tandem to be named Defensive Player of the Week in the NFL.LB Clay Matthews Named NFC Defensive Player Of The Week
, ''Packers.com'', September 22, 2010, Accessed December 9, 2012. In 2022, the

Professional Football Researchers Association The Professional Football Researchers Association (PFRA) is an organization of researchers whose mission is to preserve and, in some cases, reconstruct professional American football history. It was founded on June 22, 1979 in Canton, Ohio by w ...

named Matthews to the PFRA Hall of Very Good Class of 2022.

Life after pro football

Matthews resides in

Agoura Hills, California Agoura Hills () is a city situated in the Santa Monica Mountains region of Los Angeles County, California, United States. With a population of 20,330 as of the 2010 United States census, 2010 census, which decreased to 20,299 in 2020. Agoura H ...

. He serves as defensive coordinator at

Oaks Christian High School Oaks Christian School (OCS) is a co-educational, college-preparatory, non-denominational Christian school serving grades 4–12. Oaks Christian School is located on in Westlake Village, Los Angeles County, California. The school was establishe ...

, a co-ed private school in

Westlake Village, California Westlake Village is a city in Los Angeles County, California, on its western border with Ventura County. Upon its incorporation in 1981, Westlake Village became the 82nd municipality of Los Angeles County.Baker, Pam (2002). ''Thousand Oaks We ...

which his son Casey attended. Matthews was inducted into the USC Athletic Hall of Fame in 2005, along with his brother Bruce. Matthews also opened a Pontiac car dealership in the Cleveland suburb of

Euclid Euclid (; ; BC) was an ancient Greek mathematician active as a geometer and logician. Considered the "father of geometry", he is chiefly known for the '' Elements'' treatise, which established the foundations of geometry that largely domina ...

in 1992; it currently operates under new ownership as Sims Buick GMC. Matthews and his brother Bruce competed with members of their family on the popular TV

game show A game show (or gameshow) is a genre of broadcast viewing entertainment where contestants compete in a game for rewards. The shows are typically directed by a game show host, host, who explains the rules of the program as well as commentating a ...

Family Feud ''Family Feud'' is an American television game show created by Mark Goodson. Two families compete on each episode to name the most popular answers to survey questions in order to win cash and prizes. The show has had three separate runs, the ...

'', hosted by

Richard Dawson Richard Dawson (born Colin Lionel Emm; 20 November 1932 – 2 June 2012) was an English-American actor, comedian, game-show host, and panelist. Dawson was well known for playing Corporal Peter Newkirk in ''Hogan's Heroes'', as a regular panel ...

. The Matthews family won the game, with Matthews being one of two family members to play in the final round. They ended the game with 41 points total but did not take the $10,000 grand prize. In 2014, Matthews was named Director of Football Operations at Carter High School (Tennessee), where he once served as an assistant coach.

Personal life

Matthews is married to Leslie Matthews. They have five children: Jennifer, Kyle, Brian, Clay III, and Casey. Clay III and Kyle played football at USC, while Casey was a linebacker for the

Oregon Ducks football The Oregon Ducks football program is a college football team for the University of Oregon, located in the U.S. state of Oregon. The team competes at the NCAA Division I level in the Football Bowl Subdivision, FBS and is a member of the Big Ten Co ...

at the

University of Oregon The University of Oregon (UO, U of O or Oregon) is a Public university, public research university in Eugene, Oregon, United States. Founded in 1876, the university is organized into nine colleges and schools and offers 420 undergraduate and gra ...

. Clay III was drafted by 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 ...

in the

2009 NFL draft The 2009 NFL draft was the 74th annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible football players. The draft took place at Radio City Music Hall in New York City, New York, on April 25 and 26, 2009. The draft c ...

, while Casey was drafted by the

Philadelphia Eagles The Philadelphia Eagles are a professional American football team based in Philadelphia. The Eagles compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC East, East division. The team plays its ...

in the

2011 NFL draft The 2011 NFL draft was the 76th installment of the annual National Football League draft, NFL draft, where the franchises of the National Football League select newly eligible football players. Like the 2010 draft, the 2011 draft was held at Rad ...

NFL career statistics

Regular season

References

External links

` {{DEFAULTSORT:Matthews, Clay 02 1956 births Living people American football linebackers Atlanta Falcons players Cleveland Browns players USC Trojans football players High school football coaches in California American Conference Pro Bowl players All-American college football players New Trier High School alumni Players of American football from Euclid, Ohio Sportspeople from Winnetka, Illinois Players of American football from Palo Alto, California Players of American football from Illinois Matthews family (United States)