View source for Clay Matthews Jr.

{{Short description|American football player (born 1956)}}
{{about|Clay Matthews Jr., who played from 1978 until 1996|his son|Clay Matthews III}}
{{Use American English|date=May 2023}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=January 2019}}
{{Infobox NFL biography
| name        = Clay Matthews Jr.
| image       = Browns CM 57.png
| caption     = Matthews with the [[Cleveland Browns]] in 1984
| number      = 57
| position    = [[Linebacker]]
| birth_date  = {{Birth date and age|1956|3|15}}
| birth_place = [[Palo Alto, California]], U.S.
| high_school = [[New Trier High School|New Trier]] {{nowrap|([[Winnetka, Illinois]])}}
| death_date  =
| death_place = 
| height_ft   = 6
| height_in   = 2
| weight_lbs  = 245
| college     = [[USC Trojans football|USC]]
| draftyear   = 1978
| draftround  = 1
| draftpick   = 12
| pastteams   = * [[Cleveland Browns]] ({{NFL Year|1978}}–{{NFL Year|1993}})
* [[Atlanta Falcons]] ({{NFL Year|1994}}–{{NFL Year|1996}})
| highlights  = * Second-team [[All-Pro]] ([[1984 All-Pro Team|1984]])
* 4× [[Pro Bowl]] ([[1986 Pro Bowl|1985]], [[1988 Pro Bowl|1987]]–[[1990 Pro Bowl|1989]])
* 4× [[List of NFL annual tackles leaders#Combined tackles leaders|NFL combined tackles leader]] (1978, 1979, 1981, 1984)
* [[Cleveland Browns Ring of Honor]]
* [[Cleveland Browns#Cleveland Browns legends|Cleveland Browns Legends]]
* [[College football national championships in NCAA Division I FBS|National champion]] ([[1974 USC Trojans football team|1974]])
* 2× First-team [[List of All-Pac-12 Conference football teams|All-Pac-8]] ([[1976 All-Pacific-8 Conference football team|1976]], [[1977 All-Pacific-8 Conference football team|1977]])
| statlabel1  = [[Tackle (football move)|Tackles]]
| statvalue1  = 1,595
| statlabel2  = [[Quarterback sack|Sacks]]
| statvalue2  = 69.5
| statlabel3  = [[Interception]]s
| statvalue3  = 16
| statlabel4  = [[Touchdowns]]
| statvalue4  = 1
| pfr         = MattCl00 
}}

'''William Clay Matthews Jr.''' (born March 15, 1956) is an American former professional [[American football|football]] [[linebacker]] who played 19 seasons in the [[National Football League]] (NFL), primarily for the [[Cleveland Browns]]. He played [[college football]] for the [[USC Trojans football|USC Trojans]] and was selected in the first round of the [[1978 NFL draft]] by the Browns. Matthews played in 278 games, which initially ranked him at number 17 among most games played{{Citation needed|date=November 2023}} (currently at number 25, see [[List of NFL players by games played]]).<ref name="NFL Career Games Leaders">[https://www.pro-football-reference.com/leaders/g_career.htm NFL Career Games Leaders]</ref>
Matthews is the father of [[Clay Matthews III]], an [[All-Pro]] linebacker and Super Bowl Champion, and [[Casey Matthews]], a former American football linebacker; brother of [[Pro Football Hall of Fame|Hall of Fame]] 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 Matthews (American football)|Bruce]], both attended college at the [[University of Southern California]], where both played on the [[USC Trojans football]] team.

== Professional career ==
[[File:Clay Matthews 1985.jpg|thumb|left|Matthews in 1985]]
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 (American football)|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 Matthews III|Clay III]], are the only father-son tandem to be named Defensive Player of the Week in the NFL.<ref name="LB Clay Matthews Named NFC Defensive Player Of The Week">[http://www.packers.com/news-and-events/article-1/LB-Clay-Matthews-Named-NFC-Defensive-Player-Of-The-Week/077215d7-e930-4afc-917e-0d06822e9545 LB Clay Matthews Named NFC Defensive Player Of The Week] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150924080146/http://www.packers.com/news-and-events/article-1/LB-Clay-Matthews-Named-NFC-Defensive-Player-Of-The-Week/077215d7-e930-4afc-917e-0d06822e9545 |date=September 24, 2015 }}, ''Packers.com'', September 22, 2010, Accessed December 9, 2012.</ref>

In 2022, the [[Professional Football Researchers Association]] named Matthews to the [[Professional Football Researchers Association#Hall of Very Good|PFRA Hall of Very Good]] Class of 2022.<ref>{{cite web |url= https://profootballresearchers.com/hall-of-very-good-2022.html |title= PFRA's Hall of Very Good Class of 2022 |author=Professional Football Researchers Association|access-date=July 19, 2022}}</ref>

==Life after pro football==
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 Matthews|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, Ohio|Euclid]] in 1992; it currently operates under new ownership{{vague|date=October 2019}} 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.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.footballscoop.com/high-school-scoop?start=36|title = High School Scoop - Friday February 25, 2022 | date=March 5, 2025 }}</ref>

==Personal life==
{{see also|Matthews family}}
Matthews is married to Leslie Matthews{{vague|date=October 2019}}. They have five children: Jennifer, Kyle, Brian, [[Clay Matthews III|Clay III]], and [[Casey Matthews|Casey]].<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2011/01/15/sports/football/15matthews.html|title=For Matthews Clan, N.F.L. Is All in the Family|last=Branch|first=John|date=2011|work=The New York Times|access-date=November 27, 2017|language=en-US|issn=0362-4331}}</ref> 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]].<ref>{{cite web | last=Klein | first=Gary | title=Trojans get ducks in a row up front | website=Los Angeles Times | date=2007-10-27 | url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2007-oct-27-sp-uscrep27-story.html | access-date=2025-05-17}}</ref>

==NFL career statistics==
===Regular season===
{| class="wikitable sortable" style="text-align: center;"
|-
! rowspan="2"| Year
! rowspan="2"| Team
! colspan="2"| Games
! colspan="4"| Tackles
! colspan="3"| Interceptions
! colspan="2"| Fumbles
|-
! GP !! GS !! Cmb !! Solo !! Ast !! Sck !! Int !! Yds !! TD !! FF !! FR
|-
! [[1978 NFL season|1978]] !! [[1978 Cleveland Browns season|CLE]]
| 15 || 2 || style="background:#cfecec;"|34 || – || – || 1.0 || 1 || 5 || 0 || 0 || 0
|-
! [[1979 NFL season|1979]] !! [[1979 Cleveland Browns season|CLE]]
| '''16''' || '''16''' || style="background:#cfecec;"|103 || – || – || 2.0 || 1 || 30 || 0 || 0 || '''2'''
|-
! [[1980 NFL season|1980]] !! [[1980 Cleveland Browns season|CLE]]
| 14 || 13 || 83 || – || – || 5.0 || 1 || 6 || 0 || 0 || 1
|-
! [[1981 NFL season|1981]] !! [[1981 Cleveland Browns season|CLE]]
| '''16''' || '''16''' || style="background:#cfecec;"|'''128''' || – || – || 5.0 || 2 || 14 || 0 || 0 || '''2'''
|-
! [[1982 NFL season|1982]] !! [[1982 Cleveland Browns season|CLE]]
| 2 || 1 || 11 || – || – || 0.0 || 0 || 0 || 0 || 0 || 0
|-
! [[1983 NFL season|1983]] !! [[1983 Cleveland Browns season|CLE]]
| '''16''' || '''16''' || 106 || – || – || 6.0 || 0 || 0 || 0 || style="background:#cfecec;"|'''4''' || 0
|-
! [[1984 NFL season|1984]] !! [[1984 Cleveland Browns season|CLE]]
| '''16''' || '''16''' || style="background:#cfecec;"|126 || – || – || '''12.0''' || 0 || 0 || 0 || 3 || 1
|-
! [[1985 NFL season|1985]] !! [[1985 Cleveland Browns season|CLE]]
| 14 || 14 || 88 || – || – || 6.0 || 0 || 0 || 0 || 1 || 1
|-
! [[1986 NFL season|1986]] !! [[1986 Cleveland Browns season|CLE]]
| '''16''' || '''16''' || 89 || – || – || 1.0 || 2 || 12 || 0 || 2 || 0
|-
! [[1987 NFL season|1987]] !! [[1987 Cleveland Browns season|CLE]]
| 12 || 12 || 72 || – || – || 2.5 || '''3''' || '''62''' || '''1''' || 0 || '''2'''
|-
! [[1988 NFL season|1988]] !! [[1988 Cleveland Browns season|CLE]]
| '''16''' || '''16''' || 101 || – || – || 6.0 || 0 || 0 || 0 || 0 || '''2'''
|-
! [[1989 NFL season|1989]] !! [[1989 Cleveland Browns season|CLE]]
| '''16''' || '''16''' || 113 || – || – || 4.0 || 1 || 25 || 0 || 3 || '''2'''
|-
! [[1990 NFL season|1990]] !! [[1990 Cleveland Browns season|CLE]]
| '''16''' || '''16''' || 102 || – || – || 3.5 || 0 || 0 || 0 || 3 || 0
|-
! [[1991 NFL season|1991]] !! [[1991 Cleveland Browns season|CLE]]
| 15 || 15 || 80 || – || – || 6.5 || 1 || 35 || 0 || 3 || 0
|-
! [[1992 NFL season|1992]] !! [[1992 Cleveland Browns season|CLE]]
| '''16''' || '''16''' || 111 || – || – || 9.0 || 1 || 6 || 0 || 3 || 0
|-
! [[1993 NFL season|1993]] !! [[1993 Cleveland Browns season|CLE]]
| '''16''' || 15 || 83 || – || – || 5.5 || 1 || 10 || 0 || 2 || 0
|-
! [[1994 NFL season|1994]] !! [[1994 Atlanta Falcons season|ATL]]
| 15 || 15 || 90 || '''71''' || '''19''' || 1.0 || 0 || 0 || 0 || 0 || 0
|-
! [[1995 NFL season|1995]] !! [[1995 Atlanta Falcons season|ATL]]
| '''16''' || '''16''' || 63 || 49 || 14 || 0.0 || 2 || 1 || 0 || 0 || 1
|-
! [[1996 NFL season|1996]] !! [[1996 Atlanta Falcons season|ATL]]
| 15 || 1 || 12 || 11 || 1 || 6.5 || 0 || 0 || 0 || 3 || 0
|-
! colspan="2"| [https://www.pro-football-reference.com/players/M/MattCl00.htm Career] || 278 || 248 || 1,595 || 131 || 34 || 82.5 || 16 || 206 || 1 || 27 || 14
|}

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
{{commons category-inline}}
`
{{1974 USC Trojans football navbox}}
{{1978 NFL Draft}}
{{Browns1978DraftPicks}}
{{BrownsFirstPick}}
{{Cleveland Browns Ring of Honor}}
{{Cleveland Browns Legends}}

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