Shane Matthews
Encyclopedia
Michael Shane Matthews (born June 1, 1970) is a former American college and professional football
player who was a quarterback
in the National Football League
(NFL) for all or part of fourteen seasons during the 1990s and 2000s. He played college football
for the University of Florida
, and thereafter, he played professionally for the Chicago Bears
and five other NFL teams. Since retiring as a player, Matthews has become the head coach
of the Florida franchise of the All American Football League
(AAFL).
in 1970. He attended Cleveland High School in Cleveland through his sophomore year, before transferring to Pascagoula High School in Pascagoula, Mississippi
, where he played high school football
for the Pascagoula Panthers. Matthews was a stand-out high school quarterback and was named the Mississippi
Player of the Year as a senior
.
to attend the University of Florida in Gainesville, Florida
, and was the starting
quarterback for the Florida Gators football
team under coach Steve Spurrier
from 1990 to 1992. In Matthews' first season as a starter in 1990, the Gators finished 9–2 overall and a league best record of 6–1 in the Southeastern Conference
(SEC); in his second season in 1991, the Gators finished 10–2 overall and 7–0 in the SEC, winning their first official SEC football championship. Matthews set a new Gators team record for career passing yards (later surpassed), finished fifth in the 1991 Heisman Trophy
voting as a junior, and was a first-team All-SEC selection in 1990, 1991 and 1992. He finished his college career having completed 722 of 1,202 attempts for 9,287 yards and seventy-four touchdown
s, and was a team captain
and the Gators' most valuable player during his final season. He led the SEC in passing for three consecutive years (1990–1992), and finished with a career efficiency rating of 137.6.
Matthews graduated from Florida with a bachelor's degree
in business administration in 1997, and he was inducted into the University of Florida Athletic Hall of Fame as a "Gator Great" in 2002.
in . He remained the Bears' back-up and third-string quarterback for four seasons. Matthews did not appear in a regular season game with the Bears until .
Matthews spent two years with the Carolina Panthers
, but remained a seldom-used back-up. The Bears brought Matthews back for the 1999 season and in his second stint with the team he played a much bigger role. Matthews had his best season in the NFL in 1999, starting
seven games, throwing for 1,645 yards and ten touchdowns. Matthews played the next two season with the Bears, starting a total of eight games in that span. He also relieved starter Jim Miller
in the 2002 (2001 NFL season
) playoff game against the Philadelphia Eagles
, after Miller separated his shoulder and could not continue.
, where he played for his former college coach Steve Spurrier
. Matthews started seven games for the Redskins, throwing for 1,251 yards and eleven touchdowns. After 2002, Matthews returned to his back-up role with the Cincinnati Bengals
in 2003 (no appearances) and the Buffalo Bills
in 2004 and 2005 (three appearances, no starts). In 2005, he was on the roster of the Bills, but was the third-string quarterback behind J.P. Losman
and Kelly Holcomb
. Matthews did not appear in a regular season game during the 2005 NFL season
, and retired after the end of the 2005 season.
In December 2006, Matthews was signed as the third-string quarterback for the Dolphins. He was brought in to replace the former starter Daunte Culpepper
, who was placed on injured reserve
for knee rehab. On March 2, 2007, Matthews again retired from the NFL. In his six NFL seasons, Matthews played in thirty-two regular season games, started twenty-two of them, and completed 492 of 839 passing attempts for 4,756 yards and thirty-one touchdowns.
American football
American football is a sport played between two teams of eleven with the objective of scoring points by advancing the ball into the opposing team's end zone. Known in the United States simply as football, it may also be referred to informally as gridiron football. The ball can be advanced by...
player who was a quarterback
Quarterback
Quarterback is a position in American and Canadian football. Quarterbacks are members of the offensive team and line up directly behind the offensive line...
in the National Football League
National Football League
The National Football League is the highest level of professional American football in the United States, and is considered the top professional American football league in the world. It was formed by eleven teams in 1920 as the American Professional Football Association, with the league changing...
(NFL) for all or part of fourteen seasons during the 1990s and 2000s. He played college football
College football
College football refers to American football played by teams of student athletes fielded by American universities, colleges, and military academies, or Canadian football played by teams of student athletes fielded by Canadian universities...
for the University of Florida
University of Florida
The University of Florida is an American public land-grant, sea-grant, and space-grant research university located on a campus in Gainesville, Florida. The university traces its historical origins to 1853, and has operated continuously on its present Gainesville campus since September 1906...
, and thereafter, he played professionally for the Chicago Bears
Chicago Bears
The Chicago Bears are a professional American football team based in Chicago, Illinois. They are members of the North Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League...
and five other NFL teams. Since retiring as a player, Matthews has become the head coach
Head coach
A head coach, senior coach or manager is a professional at training and developing athletes. They typically hold a more public profile and are paid more than other coaches...
of the Florida franchise of the All American Football League
All American Football League
The All American Football League was a proposed professional American football league. The league, which was to combine a professional pay structure with the requirement that all players be college graduates, had originally been scheduled to start in the spring of 2007, but later postponed its...
(AAFL).
Early life
Matthews was born in Cleveland, MississippiCleveland, Mississippi
Cleveland is a city in Bolivar County, Mississippi, United States. The population was 12,334 as of the 2010 census.Cleveland has a fairly large commercial economy, with numerous restaurants, stores, and services along U.S. Highway 61...
in 1970. He attended Cleveland High School in Cleveland through his sophomore year, before transferring to Pascagoula High School in Pascagoula, Mississippi
Pascagoula, Mississippi
Pascagoula is a city in Jackson County, Mississippi, United States. It is the principal city of the Pascagoula, Mississippi Metropolitan Statistical Area, as a part of the Gulfport–Biloxi–Pascagoula, Mississippi Combined Statistical Area. The population was 26,200 at the 2000 census...
, where he played high school football
High school football
High school football, in North America, refers to the game of football as it is played in the United States and Canada. It ranks among the most popular interscholastic sports in both of these nations....
for the Pascagoula Panthers. Matthews was a stand-out high school quarterback and was named the Mississippi
Mississippi
Mississippi is a U.S. state located in the Southern United States. Jackson is the state capital and largest city. The name of the state derives from the Mississippi River, which flows along its western boundary, whose name comes from the Ojibwe word misi-ziibi...
Player of the Year as a senior
Senior (education)
Senior is a term used in the United States to describe a student in the 4th year of study .-High school:...
.
College career
Matthews received an athletic scholarshipAthletic scholarship
An athletic scholarship is a form of scholarship to attend a college or university awarded to an individual based predominantly on his or her ability to play in a sport...
to attend the University of Florida in Gainesville, Florida
Gainesville, Florida
Gainesville is the largest city in, and the county seat of, Alachua County, Florida, United States as well as the principal city of the Gainesville, Florida Metropolitan Statistical Area . The preliminary 2010 Census population count for Gainesville is 124,354. Gainesville is home to the sixth...
, and was the starting
Starting lineup
A starting lineup in sports is an official list of the set of players who will actively participate in the event when the game begins. The players in the starting lineup are commonly referred to as starters, whereas the others are substitutes or bench players.The starters are commonly the best...
quarterback for the Florida Gators football
Florida Gators football
The Florida Gators football team represents the University of Florida in the sport of American football. The Florida Gators compete in the Football Bowl Subdivision of the National Collegiate Athletics Association and the Eastern Division of the Southeastern Conference...
team under coach Steve Spurrier
Steve Spurrier
Stephen Orr Spurrier is an American college football coach and player. Spurrier is the current head coach of the University of South Carolina's Gamecocks football team. He is also a former professional player and coach...
from 1990 to 1992. In Matthews' first season as a starter in 1990, the Gators finished 9–2 overall and a league best record of 6–1 in the Southeastern Conference
Southeastern Conference
The Southeastern Conference is an American college athletic conference that operates in the southeastern part of the United States. It is headquartered in Birmingham, Alabama...
(SEC); in his second season in 1991, the Gators finished 10–2 overall and 7–0 in the SEC, winning their first official SEC football championship. Matthews set a new Gators team record for career passing yards (later surpassed), finished fifth in the 1991 Heisman Trophy
Heisman Trophy
The Heisman Memorial Trophy Award , is awarded annually to the player deemed the most outstanding player in collegiate football. It was created in 1935 as the Downtown Athletic Club trophy and renamed in 1936 following the death of the Club's athletic director, John Heisman The Heisman Memorial...
voting as a junior, and was a first-team All-SEC selection in 1990, 1991 and 1992. He finished his college career having completed 722 of 1,202 attempts for 9,287 yards and seventy-four touchdown
Touchdown
A touchdown is a means of scoring in American and Canadian football. Whether running, passing, returning a kickoff or punt, or recovering a turnover, a team scores a touchdown by advancing the ball into the opponent's end zone.-Description:...
s, and was a team captain
Captain (sports)
In team sports, a captain is a title given to a member of the team. The title is frequently honorary, but in some cases the captain may have significant responsibility for strategy and teamwork while the game is in progress on the field...
and the Gators' most valuable player during his final season. He led the SEC in passing for three consecutive years (1990–1992), and finished with a career efficiency rating of 137.6.
Matthews graduated from Florida with a bachelor's degree
Bachelor's degree
A bachelor's degree is usually an academic degree awarded for an undergraduate course or major that generally lasts for three or four years, but can range anywhere from two to six years depending on the region of the world...
in business administration in 1997, and he was inducted into the University of Florida Athletic Hall of Fame as a "Gator Great" in 2002.
1993–2001
After finishing his college career, Matthews was signed by the Chicago BearsChicago Bears
The Chicago Bears are a professional American football team based in Chicago, Illinois. They are members of the North Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League...
in . He remained the Bears' back-up and third-string quarterback for four seasons. Matthews did not appear in a regular season game with the Bears until .
Matthews spent two years with the Carolina Panthers
Carolina Panthers
The Carolina Panthers are a professional American football team based in Charlotte, North Carolina. They are currently members of the South Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League . The Panthers, along with the Jacksonville Jaguars, joined the NFL as expansion...
, but remained a seldom-used back-up. The Bears brought Matthews back for the 1999 season and in his second stint with the team he played a much bigger role. Matthews had his best season in the NFL in 1999, starting
Starting lineup
A starting lineup in sports is an official list of the set of players who will actively participate in the event when the game begins. The players in the starting lineup are commonly referred to as starters, whereas the others are substitutes or bench players.The starters are commonly the best...
seven games, throwing for 1,645 yards and ten touchdowns. Matthews played the next two season with the Bears, starting a total of eight games in that span. He also relieved starter Jim Miller
Jim Miller (quarterback)
James Donald Miller is a former NFL quarterback, last under contract with the New York Giants. He was drafted in the 6th round of the 1994 NFL Draft by the Pittsburgh Steelers, 178th overall. Miller attended Waterford Kettering High School and graduated in 1989...
in the 2002 (2001 NFL season
2001 NFL season
The 2001 NFL season was the 82nd regular season of the National Football League.Following a pattern set in 1999, the first week of the season was permanently moved to the weekend following Labor Day...
) playoff game against the Philadelphia Eagles
Philadelphia Eagles
The Philadelphia Eagles are a professional American football team based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. They are members of the East Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League...
, after Miller separated his shoulder and could not continue.
2002–2006
In 2002, Matthews signed with the Washington RedskinsWashington Redskins
The Washington Redskins are a professional American football team and members of the East Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League . The team plays at FedExField in Landover, Maryland, while its headquarters and training facility are at Redskin Park in Ashburn,...
, where he played for his former college coach Steve Spurrier
Steve Spurrier
Stephen Orr Spurrier is an American college football coach and player. Spurrier is the current head coach of the University of South Carolina's Gamecocks football team. He is also a former professional player and coach...
. Matthews started seven games for the Redskins, throwing for 1,251 yards and eleven touchdowns. After 2002, Matthews returned to his back-up role with the Cincinnati Bengals
Cincinnati Bengals
The Cincinnati Bengals are a professional football team based in Cincinnati, Ohio. They are members of the AFC's North Division in the National Football League . The Bengals began play in 1968 as an expansion team in the American Football League , and joined the NFL in 1970 in the AFL-NFL...
in 2003 (no appearances) and the Buffalo Bills
Buffalo Bills
The Buffalo Bills are a professional football team based in Buffalo, New York. They are currently members of the East Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League...
in 2004 and 2005 (three appearances, no starts). In 2005, he was on the roster of the Bills, but was the third-string quarterback behind J.P. Losman
J.P. Losman
Jonathan Paul "J. P." Losman is an American football quarterback for the Miami Dolphins of the National Football League. He was drafted by the Buffalo Bills 22nd overall in the 2004 NFL Draft...
and Kelly Holcomb
Kelly Holcomb
Bryan Kelly Holcomb is a former American football quarterback of the National Football League. He was signed by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers as an undrafted free agent in 1995...
. Matthews did not appear in a regular season game during the 2005 NFL season
2005 NFL season
The 2005 NFL season was the 86th regular season of the National Football League.With the New England Patriots as the defending league champions, regular season play was held from September 8, 2005 to January 1, 2006...
, and retired after the end of the 2005 season.
In December 2006, Matthews was signed as the third-string quarterback for the Dolphins. He was brought in to replace the former starter Daunte Culpepper
Daunte Culpepper
Daunte Rachard Culpepper is an American football quarterback who is currently a free agent. He last played for the Sacramento Mountain Lions of the United Football League . Prior to joining the UFL, Culpepper enjoyed a successful National Football League career after being drafted 11th overall in...
, who was placed on injured reserve
Injured reserve
The injured reserve list is a list of reserved players who are injured and unable to play for a period of time, used most prominently in the National Hockey League and National Football League . It is used because these leagues have a maximum number of players on the team roster, so placing a...
for knee rehab. On March 2, 2007, Matthews again retired from the NFL. In his six NFL seasons, Matthews played in thirty-two regular season games, started twenty-two of them, and completed 492 of 839 passing attempts for 4,756 yards and thirty-one touchdowns.
See also
- Florida GatorsFlorida GatorsThe Florida Gators are the intercollegiate sports teams that represent the University of Florida located in Gainesville, Florida. The "Lady Gators" is an alternative nickname sometimes used by the Gators women's teams...
- Florida Gators football, 1990–1999
- List of Buffalo Bills players
- List of Chicago Bears players
- List of Florida Gators football players
- List of SEC Most Valuable Players
- List of University of Florida alumni
- List of Washington Redskins players