Don Matthews.....

[Lionut]

Like a lot of successful coaches, (most, actually), The Don was a pretty arrogant guy. (Let's be honest -- Wally can be pretty arrogant as well, but he just hides it a lot better than Matthews ever did.) My favourite Don Matthews line ever -- "This is a dictatorship, and I am the head dick."

I see Matthews rather as the Bill Parcells of the CFL -- brilliant coach, terrific eye for talent, and able to turn troubled teams around very quickly. Like Parcells, he can be a difficult guy to work with, and like Parcells, he doesn't suffer fools gladly. This translates into a withering contempt for the ink stained wretches of the media. There is also a cadre of "Matthews guys" around the league, players and coaches who would lie down in front of a bus for the guy. Not coincidentally, Parcells also has an indentifiable group of guys like this. And, like Parcells, he tends to wear out his welcome eventually, sometimes sooner rather than later, in whatever city he happens to be in.

No doubt, though, that The Don is a winner. I still believe that the worst mistake the Lions ever made as a franchise was not giving Matthews the GM job when Bobby Ackles left for the NFL. They gave the job instead to Joe Galat, who of course felt threatened by Matthews and fired him at the first plausible opportunity. As we all know, a period of darkness for the franchise followed pretty quickly thereafter.

[PigSkin_53]

Great thread jcalhoun...

The one thing I loved about Don Mathews (other than he was the finest coach ever in the CFL) was he hated the media, and it was not limited to the west coast.

I often wondered how this guy would have handled the Montreal media if he had been a hockey coach in la belle province.

[David]

What J. Paul McConnell (the former play-by-play man for the Lions on CKNW) had to say about The Don bordered on slander.

DH 8)

[Tighthead]

Don does not like the media to keep a running count of his wives.

[WestCoastJoe]

When I was coaching in high school, Don Matthews came to our year end banquet as featured speaker. This was before he won the Grey Cup with the Lions, early in his tenure with them.

He wasn't a dramatic speaker, but he spoke with great conviction.

His record as a high school coach in Oregon was astonishing. Three times he took over programs where they had barely won a game the previous year, and three times they were state champions in his first year with the team. I remember wondering how does he do that?

All these years later, here are some keys that I see to his success:

Attack on defense. Attack the QB especially. Give him no time. Hurry him. Force him to make decisions before he is ready. Use an endless variety of blitz packages.

Attack on offense. Throw the ball a lot. Get the ball in the hands of receivers who can run with it after the catch. Encourage your guys to make plays.

Matthews gave his players a sense of freedom and confidence. Players love to attack. I found that out myself in coaching. Attack on defense. Attack in the ground game. Attack in the passing game. He called it "basketball on grass". He said the team had to get the ball in the hands of its good athletes so they could make plays.

Matthews had schemes that were ahead of their time. Passing game. Blitz packages.

He was an exceptional judge of talent. He also must have had his way of communicating with the players that inspired them.

I remember when Ackles hired him from Defensive Coordinator of the Eskimos. I recall one of the Eskimos talking about it. He told how Matthews spoke to his group and prepared them for a game. In speaking to them and in game preparation, he went through everything, how they would deal with every situation and every opposing player. At the end, he would say: "We've got them." And his players knew it was true. Then the Eskimo said to the reporter: "And now he's over there (in B.C.)," with some trepidation.

Those are just a few stories and ideas about Don Matthews. I wish someone would write a book or two about him. It was very interesting to read about Vince Lombardi and glimpse some insights into how he approached the game of football. Matthews seems kind of secretive. He would probably hate to have a book written about him.

One thing about Matthews: even his critics, of which there are many, can't deny his success.

[TheLionKing]

Bobby Ackles consider Don Matthews the best coach ever. Need more be said ?

[PigSkin_53]

Nothing!

[B.C.FAN]

When I was coaching in high school, Don Matthews came to our year end banquet as featured speaker. This was before he won the Grey Cup with the Lions, early in his tenure with them.

He wasn't a dramatic speaker, but he spoke with great conviction.

His record as a high school coach in Oregon was astonishing. Three times he took over programs where they had barely won a game the previous year, and three times they were state champions in his first year with the team. I remember wondering how does he do that?

All these years later, here are some keys that I see to his success:

Attack on defense. Attack the QB especially. Give him no time. Hurry him. Force him to make decisions before he is ready. Use an endless variety of blitz packages.

Attack on offense. Throw the ball a lot. Get the ball in the hands of receivers who can run with it after the catch. Encourage your guys to make plays.

Matthews gave his players a sense of freedom and confidence. Players love to attack. I found that out myself in coaching. Attack on defense. Attack in the ground game. Attack in the passing game. He called it "basketball on grass". He said the team had to get the ball in the hands of its good athletes so they could make plays.

Matthews had schemes that were ahead of their time. Passing game. Blitz packages.

He was an exceptional judge of talent. He also must have had his way of communicating with the players that inspired them.

I remember when Ackles hired him from Defensive Coordinator of the Eskimos. I recall one of the Eskimos talking about it. He told how Matthews spoke to his group and prepared them for a game. In speaking to them and in game preparation, he went through everything, how they would deal with every situation and every opposing player. At the end, he would say: "We've got them." And his players knew it was true. Then the Eskimo said to the reporter: "And now he's over there (in B.C.)," with some trepidation.

Those are just a few stories and ideas about Don Matthews. I wish someone would write a book or two about him. It was very interesting to read about Vince Lombardi and glimpse some insights into how he approached the game of football. Matthews seems kind of secretive. He would probably hate to have a book written about him.

One thing about Matthews: even his critics, of which there are many, can't deny his success.

Great observations, WCJ. Matthews was one of the first coaches to realize that there's no substitute for speed. He built his teams around quick, and often undersized players, especially on defence.

Matthews also was a gambler, sometimes to his detriment. His defences would live by the blitz and die by the blitz, and he loved fake punts and onside kicks. Opponents were always on edge, because they were warned to expect the unexpected.

[Lionut]

What J. Paul McConnell (the former play-by-play man for the Lions on CKNW) had to say about The Don bordered on slander.

DH 8)

This is what happens when two mammoth egos collide, and one won't show deference to the other. The Don, of course, treated the media with utter contempt, while J.P. expected home team coaches to kiss butt with the local media. The result was fairly predictable. I will say, though, that the way J.P. carried on that feud for years, and just wouldn't leave it alone on the air, wasn't terribly classy or professional.

[Soundy]

This is what happens when two mammoth egos collide, and one won't show deference to the other.

Kinda like the famous Burke/McRae battles?

[Soundy]

Matthews gave his players a sense of freedom and confidence. Players love to attack. I found that out myself in coaching. Attack on defense. Attack in the ground game. Attack in the passing game. He called it "basketball on grass". He said the team had to get the ball in the hands of its good athletes so they could make plays.

I think there's an important nugget of truth there: in any pro team sports, you're dealing with people - both athletes and coaches - who THRIVE on action and adrenaline - that's why they're in these sports in the first place. If you give them to room to let loose and throw their all into it, they'll usually do that, and be a lot happier doing it than if you're always reining them in. Sure it's nice to win, and defense is important to winning, but it's better if you can win and have fun doing it!

[TheLionKing]

This is what happens when two mammoth egos collide, and one won't show deference to the other.

Kinda like the famous Burke/McRae battles?

Exactly !

[Shi Zi Mi]

My impression of Mathews was not so much arrogance, as seeing things for what they really are........particularly when it came to the media.

Generally speaking, he saw the lying bastards for what they truly were and afforded them the respect (or lack there of) that they had earned.

As for the football team, he would be the one ultimately held accountable for the team's performance, so he was the one to call all the shots.......makes purrfect sense.

[lion24]

My impression of Mathews was not so much arrogance, as seeing things for what they really are........particularly when it came to the media.

Generally speaking, he saw the lying bastards for what they truly were and afforded them the respect (or lack there of) that they had earned.

As for the football team, he would be the one ultimately held accountable for the team's performance, so he was the one to call all the shots.......makes purrfect sense.

I would agree for the most part other than the fact there were probably some good and honest media members who didn't deserve some of his rants