head coach
Matthews’ 2000 team was nationally ranked for most of the year before finishing 6-5 and had nine players receive all-league honors. His 2001 team, with only 11 seniors and 54 freshmen and redshirt freshmen, was 2-9 with seven games decided by seven or fewer points.
JMU in 2002 was 5-7 and won two of its final three games with a squad that included only six seniors and five juniors. The Dukes won two overtime games, and six of their other contests were decided by seven or fewer points. JMU had eight All-Atlantic 10 honorees. JMU in 2003 was 6-6 with a team that had but four seniors. His 2004 team won seven games by 10 or fewer points and two others that were scoreless into the second half. The balanced and deep JMU squad had only three first-team all-league honorees, including first-team All-Americans in offensive guard Matt Magerko and LeZotte, but had seven members named to the second and third all-league units. JMU’s 7-4 team in 2005 had a first-team AllAmerican in LeZotte, and in 2006 Jordan was runner-up for the Buchanan Award. The 2006 Dukes had seven first-team all-league picks, and JMU was first nationally in kickoff return average (27.1 yards), second in sacks (4.0 per game), and fourth in rushing defense (84.8 yards per game) and passing efficiency (162.5). The 2007 Dukes were 8-4 after falling 28-27 to eventual champion Appalachian State in the first round of NCAA play. LeZotte received his second league Defender of the Year award and All-America honors for the fourth time, and JMU was the national leader in fewest quarterback sacks allowed (0.5 per game). JMU during the 2009 season won its final four games – all against league opponents – to finish 6-5. The 2009 Dukes won at Delaware for the first time since 1994 and at Massachusetts
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for the first time since 1987 during their seasonclosing four-game winning streak. ***** Matthews coached the linebackers and defensive backs at Georgia (1996-98), which won two bowl games during his tenure. He also coached Champ Bailey, the nation’s top defender and Washington’s first-round choice in the 1999 NFL draft. Georgia was 5-6 in 1996, 10-2 in 1997 and 9-3 in 1998. The Bulldogs completed 1998 having won 20 of 25 games, including a Peach Bowl win over Virginia (35-33) and an Outback Bowl win over Wisconsin (33-6). With a supposedly rebuilding team in 1998, Georgia won four SEC road games and was second in the league and 16th nationally in scoring defense (17.2 points per game). At Marshall from 1990-95, Matthews was part of a program that won the Division I-AA title in 1992, was runner-up in 1991, 1993 and 1995, and was a 1994 semifinalist. The Herd led the nation in scoring defense in 1993 and was seventh nationally in 1990 and 1995. Marshall won 64 games during Matthews’ six years (58 the last five seasons) and won 11 or more games and made the playoffs from 1991-95. The Herd was 45-4 at home and 15-4 in post-season play. Marshall led the Southern Conference in total defense four times (1990, 93-95), scoring defense three times (1990, 93-94), passing defense twice (1990, 94) and rushing defense twice (1992, 95).