Longtime Oilers/Titans lineman reluctantly calls it a career By JOHN McCLAIN Copyright 2002 Houston Chronicle CAREER HIGHLIGHTS -- BRUCE MATTHEWS • Played in more games than any other non-kicker in league history (296 in 19 seasons). • Appeared in 14 Pro Bowls (nine at guard and five at center), tied for the most ever with Merlin Olsen. • Voted first-team All-Pro six times. • Made a league-best 229 consecutive starts. • Never missed a game because of injury. • Played every position on the offensive line during his career. • Blocked for four 1,000-yard rushers: Earl Campbell, Mike Rozier, Gary Brown and Eddie George. • Blocked for five Heisman Trophy winners: Charles White, Marcus Allen, Mike Rozier, Earl Campbell and Eddie George. Bruce Matthews, one of the greatest players in NFL history, is retiring after 19 seasons, 14 Pro Bowls and a league-best 229 consecutive starts for the Houston Oilers/Tennessee Titans. Matthews, who resides in Missouri City, will make it official at a news conference Monday at Titans owner Bud Adams' Galleria offices. "Playing football for the Oilers and Titans was never a job for me, it was always a privilege," Matthews said Friday. "I've been blessed to play with great guys in great cities in front of great fans, but now it's time to move on. I have no regrets." Matthews, 40, is guaranteed of being a first-ballot selection for the Pro Football Hall of Fame's class of 2007. Matthews, who was inducted into the Texas Sports Hall of Fame this year, never missed a game because of injury. He tied with Merlin Olsen for the most Pro Bowls in NFL history -- nine at guard and five at center. His 296 games played is more than any non-kicker in history. Matthews and guard Randall McDaniel, who also retired this year, were the only players to appear in every game in the 1990s. "Last year, I told my wife (Carrie) and kids that it would be my last season," he said. "During this offseason, I wavered a number of times. Going back and forth so much was starting to take a toll. "At times, I felt like I could have played another season, but at other times, I felt like it was time to hang it up. Once I decided what to do, it was an easy decision." Matthews' retirement isn't unexpected. It has been a topic of discussion since last season ended. But like most players, he had second thoughts. There was speculation he might try to play a 20th season with the Texans so he could finish his career in Houston. "I thought about that, but it just didn't work out," Matthews said. "It's hard to say what I would have done if they had made an offer, but I'm comfortable with this decision. I just feel like it's the right time. Moving between Houston and Nashville every year was tough on my family." Matthews has five sons and a daughter. He and business partner Bob Queen are assistant coaches on 8-year-old Michael Matthews' First Colony Broncos team. Matthews is too involved with his family and 2MQ Construction to consider being a full-time assistant coach. "I can devote full time to being a husband and father," he said. "I can coach my son's team and work out with my two oldest boys (Steven and Kevin) while they get ready to play high school football. I can also spend more time with 2MQ. "I always hoped that when it came time to pack it in I wouldn't have that desire to play any more, and it would be a no-brainer, but that's not the case. Carrie and I are excited about it and what it means to our family, but at the same time, we're also a little apprehensive because my career has been such a huge part of our lives." Matthews came to Houston in 1983 as the Oilers' No. 1 pick. Former general manager Ladd Herzeg traded down two times and selected Matthews with the ninth pick in the first round. Matthews' retirement leaves Washington cornerback Darrell Green, the Houston native who is playing in his 20th season, as the only survivor from the first round of that draft. Matthews and guard Mike Munchak, the Oilers' No. 1 pick in 1982, became the anchors of a team that would make the playoffs a league-best seven consecutive years (1987-93) but never advance as far as the AFC Championship Game. They were teammates who became best friends. For the past eight years, Munchak was Matthews' position coach. Matthews is part of one of pro football's most famous families. His father, Clay Matthews, played for the San Francisco 49ers. His older brother, Clay Matthews Jr., played 19 seasons as a linebacker for the Cleveland Browns and Atlanta Falcons. "God blessed my brother and I with bodies that could take a pounding," Matthews said. "When I was young, I wanted to be like my older brother. "My whole life, I've copied those closest to me -- first Clay and then Munch when I came to the Oilers. I attached myself to them. Not only were they great players, but they were great people, too." Matthews played 14 seasons in Houston before Adams moved the franchise to Tennessee. He was the team's most outspoken player against the move, but grew to love Nashville, where he played in the Super Bowl after the 1999 season and lost the heartbreaker to St. Louis. Throughout his career, the Matthews family returned to Houston. "I feel bad for the fans that we never reached the Super Bowl while we played in Houston, but we still had some great times, didn't we?" Matthews said. "I've always felt so comfortable here. Being the fourth-largest city has provided me some anonymity. "Even though I didn't want the team to move, it turned out to be a blessing. In Nashville, every Titans game is such an event. The fans are so enthusiastic. Now that Houston's got the Texans and Reliant Stadium, I think it's worked out well for both cities." It took Matthews five years to make the playoffs and 17 years to play in a Super Bowl. The only time he didn't start was in 1983 and 1987 because of contract disputes. "There were a lot of highlights in my career," he said. "Playing in the Super Bowl was certainly one of them. "But I also remember how exciting it was when the Oilers made the playoffs for the first time (in 1987). Playing against Clay when we played the Browns was another memorable experience. There are just so many." Matthews doesn't need to be asked about the worst moment of his career. Like other members of the Oilers' 1992 team, blowing a 35-3 lead -- the largest in NFL history -- in the wild-card game at Buffalo and losing 41-38 in overtime will rank at the top. When Matthews was asked to discuss his candidacy for the Pro Football Hall of Fame, where he served last year as Munchak's presenter at Canton, Ohio, he politely declines. "I just don't feel comfortable talking about it," he said. When asked how he would like to be remembered as a player, Matthews hesitated, sighed and said: "He played hard, and he played fair." And he played great for many years.
I really wish the Texans would have given better interest than they did...I think he really would have played a 20th season here in Houston. O well, regardless, I'm still happy for the future hall of fame status that is sure to bestow Matthews...
it would have been cool if he did one of those one day sign and retire with the texans and retire in houston
Oilers/Titans Matthews makes retirement official Associated Press Bruce Matthews, the most durable offensive lineman in NFL history -- not to mention one of the best -- thought he would know it was time to retire when he didn't want to play anymore. It didn't work out that way, Matthews said today in announcing his retirement from the Tennessee Titans after 296 games over 19 years spent entirely with the franchise, including the first 14 when it was the Houston Oilers. "I thought when you retire you're done with it and you don't have the desire to play any more," Matthews said. Instead, Matthews vacillated during the offseason before finally deciding to spend the upcoming season in his suburban Houston home rather than Nashville, Tenn. Titans owner Bud Adams played host to Matthews' farewell news conference at his KSA Industries Inc. offices in southwest Houston. He praised the lineman's presence on and off the field as he introduced him. "He obviously was a great football player, but what I found admirable about Bruce was that God and family were clearly more important than football and this is what made him such a special man, not just a special football player," Adams said. Matthews will join running back Earl Campbell, defensive end Elvin Bethea, safety Jim Norton and fellow offensive lineman and best friend Mike Munchak as the only Oilers/Titans to have their numbers retired by the franchise. Munchak, an NFL Hall of Famer who played alongside Matthews for 12 years and has coached him the last seven, said he knew the team's first-round draft pick in 1983 would live up to a reputation earned as a star at Southern California. "When he actually stepped on the field, all eyes were on him," Munchak said. "Watching him in practice that first day ... I knew we had something special here." Matthews leaves behind some impressive numbers for a position short on statistics: --His 14 Pro Bowls, nine at guard and five at center, matched Merlin Olsen for most in NFL history. He was voted first-team All-Pro six times. --Matthews blocked for four 1,000-yard rushers: Campbell, Mike Rozier, Gary Brown and Eddie George. He also paved the way for Charles White and Marcus Allen to win Heisman Trophies at USC. --He appeared in every game in the 1990s, a feat accomplished only by fellow lineman Randall McDaniel of Minnesota. --Titans coach Jeff Fisher, a teammate of Matthews' for two seasons at USC, estimated the lineman was in on more than 21,000 plays. --Combined with brother Clay Matthews, who ranks on sixth in games played at 278, they established what might be an unbreakable record of 574 NFL games by brothers. Matthews toyed with the idea of a 20th season not in Nashville but back in Houston, where he lives with his wife and six children and owns a construction company with Munchak and friend Bob Queen. "But that wasn't the way it was meant to be, and I don't have a problem with that," said Matthews, who's looking forward to Friday nights watching sons Steven and Kevin play high school football. Matthews called the Titans' 2000 Super Bowl appearance his career high point, with the nadir being the franchise's litany of playoff disasters, especially the 1992 wildcard game in which the Oilers blew a 32-point lead in the third quarter and lost 41-38 to the Buffalo Bills. His quarterback then, Warren Moon, praised Matthews on Monday. "Bruce was the most talented, intelligent and competitive lineman I played with in my 20 years of professional football," Moon said. "There may have been more physical players or intelligent players or competitive players, but no one had them all wrapped up into one package like Bruce." Former foes were equally effusive. "Bruce Matthews has been a great ambassador for the National Football League," Pittsburgh Steelers coach Bill Cowher said. "He has been an outstanding competitor and ultimate professional." Matthews said he'll still follow the Titans as the expansion Houston Texans begin playing. The Oiler/Titan Columbia blue blood was clearly flowing when asked how he thought he might have reacted playing in Houston as a visiting player. "We would have killed them," Matthews said. "The Texans have got to take their lumps."
What a great player but the thing I remember most about Matthews was the time he was moved from guard to left tackle for a game and Bruce Smith totally dominated him. He had like 4 sacks and Moon was murdered. I wish he could have retired here though. Stupid Bud Adams... grr.
