Edmonton was a major part of Don Matthews’ football journey.
Matthews, who passed away Wednesday at the age of 77, made a name for himself as the Eskimos’ defensive coordinator for their five-in-a-row Grey Cup teams from 1978 to 1982. He returned to Edmonton in that role in 1989 and helped the Eskimos go 16-2, still the best regular season record ever.
His path wound through Edmonton again a decade later. In 1999 and 2000, Matthews was the Eskimos’ head coach. Jed Roberts was a linebacker on those clubs.
READ MORE: CFL coaching legend Don Matthews passes away
“He just was football, that’s all he cared about. He did everything 100 per cent,” Roberts said. “If he was in the room, you know it. He wasn’t one of those guys that was going to sit back in the shadows and let things happen around him.
“He was a natural born leader.”
Even though Matthews was seen as more of a defensive guru, he found a way to influence offensive players as well.
“He was a team culture guy. I still remember him coming into the locker room at one point in the pre-season. We’d played kind of a soft half,” former offensive lineman Chris Morris recalled. “He was like, ‘I don’t know. Maybe this is a finesse team, maybe we’re going to be skilled and not physical.’ That was enough for the guys on the offensive line.
“That was a call to war. He knew how to motivate teams.”
Matthews’ motivation techniques sometimes had nothing to do with football.
“On the day before the game, he would implement the Hat Day,” Roberts said. “Everybody would wear the wildest, craziest hats they could find. We took it as a challenge to find the craziest hat we could.”
Matthews didn’t win a Grey Cup as Eskimos head coach, going 6-12 in 1999 and 10-8 in 2000. Both years, the Esks lost in the West Semi-Final. But Roberts believes his impact was felt long after his dismissal during training camp in 2001.
“I truly believe that those ’03 and’05 teams that won the Grey Cup owe a big debt of gratitude to him,” Roberts said.
“He was the one that implemented that closeness among the guys. It was the core group of guys he brought in that went on to win those championships.”
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