Clay Matthews Jr.

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, both attended college at the University of Southern California, where both played on the USC Trojans football team.

Matthews was drafted by the Cleveland Browns with the 12th pick in the first round of the 1978 NFL draft. He was a four-time selection for the Pro Bowl 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 (1981), The Drive (1987), and The Fumble (1988), which stopped those Browns teams from potentially advancing to the Super Bowl. 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 to seal a Cleveland victory. After the 1993 season, Matthews signed with the Atlanta Falcons. 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.^[2]

In 2022, the Professional Football Researchers Association named Matthews to the PFRA Hall of Very Good Class of 2022.^[3]

Matthews resides in Agoura Hills, California. He serves as defensive coordinator at Oaks Christian High School, a co-ed private school in Westlake Village, California 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 in 1992; it currently operates under new ownership^[vague] as Sims Buick GMC.

Matthews and his brother Bruce competed with members of their family on the popular TV game show Family Feud, hosted by Richard Dawson. 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.^[4]

Matthews is married to Leslie Matthews^[vague]. They have five children: Jennifer, Kyle, Brian, Clay III, and Casey.^[5] Clay III and Kyle played football at USC, while Casey was a linebacker for the Oregon Ducks football at the University of Oregon. Clay III was drafted by the Green Bay Packers in the 2009 NFL draft, while Casey was drafted by the Philadelphia Eagles in the 2011 NFL draft.^[6]