Matt Cavanaugh

Last updated

Matt Cavanaugh
Matt Cavanaugh.jpg
Cavanaugh in 2015
No. 12, 6
Position: Quarterback
Personal information
Born: (1956-10-27) October 27, 1956 (age 68)
Youngstown, Ohio, U.S.
Height:6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)
Weight:212 lb (96 kg)
Career information
High school: Chaney (Youngstown)
College: Pittsburgh (1974-1977)
NFL draft: 1978  / round: 2 / pick: 50
Career history
As a player:
As a coach:
Career highlights and awards
As player
As coach
Career NFL statistics
TD–INT:28–30
Passing yards:4,332
Passer rating:71.7
Completions:305
Attempts:579
Games played:112
Stats at Pro Football Reference
Record  at Pro Football Reference

Matthew Andrew Cavanaugh (born October 27, 1956) is an American former professional football player and coach in the National Football League (NFL). He played as a quarterback, winning two Super Bowl titles. He played college football for the Pittsburgh Panthers.

Contents

After retiring from playing following the 1991 season, Cavanaugh worked as an offensive coach and offensive coordinator for teams including the San Francisco 49ers, Chicago Bears, Baltimore Ravens (where he earned a third ring as a coach), Washington Redskins (now the Washington Commanders), and New York Jets.

Early life

Cavanaugh was born in Youngstown, Ohio, on October 27, 1956. He attended Chaney High School, and played quarterback on its 1973 and 1974 city championship teams, as team captain his senior year (1974). [1] In 1988, he was inducted into the Chaney Athletic Hall of Fame. [2]

College football

He went on to the University of Pittsburgh after graduating, and is considered one of the greatest quarterbacks in school history. [3] He played under College Football Hall of Fame head coach Johnny Majors [4] (1974-1976) and head coach Jackie Sherrill (1977). [5] In 1976, he was the starting quarterback for the undefeated Pittsburgh Panthers (he was on the same team with Heisman Trophy winner Tony Dorsett [6] ) and contributed to the team's National Championship 27–3 victory over Georgia in the Sugar Bowl. He scored the first touchdown in that game, and was on Sports Illustrated 's January 10, 1977 cover being lifted in the air by Dorsett and another player after than touchdown. Cavanaugh was selected as the Sugar Bowl's Most Valuable Player, even though Dorsett had rushed for 202 yards, because of Cavanaugh’s commanding first half performance. [3] [7] [5] [8]

Cavanaugh was first team All-American his senior year (1977), and seventh in the Heisman Trophy voting. [3] [9] He was also named MVP of the 1977 Gator Bowl, throwing for 387 yards and four touchdown passes in a 34–3 win over Clemson. [3]

In 1977, Cavanaugh missed playing time with a broken wrist, but the team still finished 9–2–1, and was ranked number 7 in the country. [5] He still threw for 1,844 yards with 15 touchdowns against six interceptions (including regular season and Gator Bowl statistics). [9] [10] At that time, this was the second-most passing yards in Pittsburgh history for a season, only trailing quarterback Ken Lucas's 1,921 yards in 1965 (playing in 10 games that year). [11] Cavanaugh’s 387 yards in the Gator Bowl was a Pitt single game record, and his 3,378 total passing yards for his career was second in school history. [12] As of 2024, Cavanaugh is no longer in the top 10 in these categories for Pitt. [13]

In 2023, he was inducted into the Pitt Athletics Hall of Fame. [3]

Professional football player

Cavanaugh was selected by the New England Patriots with the 50th overall pick in the second round of the 1978 NFL draft, [14] but spent much of his career as a backup. [15] His professional playing career included stints with the Patriots (1979-82), San Francisco 49ers (1983-85), Philadelphia Eagles 1986-89), and New York Giants (1990-91). [16]

Cavanaugh was the backup quarterback in both the 1984 Super Bowl XIX and the 1990 Super Bowl XXV to Joe Montana and Jeff Hostetler, respectively. In the 1984 49ers' championship season as Montana's backup, he played in eight games, starting one; [17] and in the Giants' 1990 championship season he was a backup to Phil Simms and Jeff Hostetler, though he did not have any playing time. [18]

Simms had been injured during a December 1990 game against the Buffalo Bills on a hit by Leon Seals and was unable to play in the Super Bowl (also against the Bills), with Hostetler taking over. Cavanaugh warmed up during the Super Bowl as Hostetler suffered a number of blows from the Buffalo Bills pass rush (and a particularly hard hit from Seals), but did not come into the game despite Hostetler playing the first half in "'kind of a blur'". [19]

Cavanaugh’s most prolific season came in 1981, when he started eight of 16 games for the Patriots. Over four years, he started 15 games for the Patriots, backing up an injured Steve Grogan, [1] [20] but in his final five years did not start any games; throwing only 21 passes during those years. [16]

Cavanaugh retired as a professional player following the 1991 season, appearing in 112 games with 19 starts, completing 305 of 579 passes for 4,332 yards, 28 touchdowns, 30 interceptions and a 71.7 passer rating. [16] [15]

Coaching career

Following his retirement, Cavanaugh because tight ends coach at Pitt for two years (1992-93), under coaches Paul Hackett and Sal Sunseri in 1992, [21] and his old coach Johnny Majors in 1993. [22] [23] He also served as Pitt's chief recruiter.[ citation needed ] Cavanaugh next began coaching in professional football. He was a quarterbacks coach with the Arizona Cardinals (1994–1995) under Buddy Ryan, who had coached Cavanaugh as a player in Philadelphia [24] ; quarterbacks coach with the 49ers (1996) under George Seifert [25] ; offensive coordinator for the Chicago Bears (1997–1998) under Dave Wannstedt [26] ; and offensive coordinator with the Baltimore Ravens (1999–2004) under Brian Billick, [27] winning Super Bowl XXXV with the Ravens in 2000. [23] [15]

Cavanaugh served as offensive coordinator under Wannstedt again, for his old college team the University of Pittsburgh Panthers, until 2008, [5] [23] [26] when he accepted a position as an assistant coach and quarterbacks coach with the New York Jets, under Rex Ryan. [28] He would remain with the Jets until 2012. [23]

On January 18, 2013, it was announced that Bears head coach Marc Trestman has hired Cavanaugh as the quarterbacks coach, replacing Jeremy Bates. [29]

On January 28, 2015, Cavanaugh became Washington's quarterbacks coach. [23] On January 23, 2017, Cavanaugh was promoted to Washington's offensive coordinator, replacing Sean McVay, who became the head coach of the Los Angeles Rams. [30] [31] On January 29, 2019, Cavanaugh was demoted to Washington's senior offensive assistant, where he still had a number of responsibilities. [32] [33] He coached in Washington under Jay Gruden. [34]

On August 25, 2021, Cavanaugh was hired by the New York Jets as a senior offensive assistant to coach Robert Saleh. [35] [36]

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References

  1. 1 2 Keddie, Matt. "Matt Cavanagh, Professional Football Researchers Association" (PDF). Profootballresearchers.com.
  2. ↑ "Chaney Athletic Hall of Fame Members" (PDF).
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 "Matt Cavanaugh (2023) - Pitt Athletics Hall of Fame". Pitt Panthers #H2P. Retrieved December 27, 2024.
  4. ↑ "Johnny Majors (1987) - Hall of Fame". National Football Foundation. Retrieved December 27, 2024.
  5. 1 2 3 4 "College Football Hall of Fame Candidate: Matt Cavanaugh". Pitt Panthers #H2P. June 3, 2019. Retrieved December 27, 2024.
  6. ↑ "Tony Dorsett College Stats, School, Draft, Gamelog, Splits". College Football at Sports-Reference.com. Retrieved December 27, 2024.
  7. ↑ Livingston, Pat (August 17, 1977). "Cavanaugh's Heisman Bid Up in the Air". Pittsburgh Press . p. C-24. Retrieved September 20, 2016– via Google News.
  8. ↑ "January 10, 1977 Table Of Contents". Sports Illustrated Vault | SI.com. Archived from the original on August 20, 2022. Retrieved December 27, 2024.
  9. 1 2 "Matt Cavanaugh College Stats, School, Draft, Gamelog, Splits". College Football at Sports-Reference.com. Retrieved December 27, 2024.
  10. ↑ McCracken, Kylie. "Legends of the Game - Pitt vs. Clemson: Matt Cavanaugh, Gator Bowl, Dec. 30, 1977". Pitt Panthers #H2P. Retrieved December 27, 2024.
  11. ↑ "Kenny Lucas College Stats, School, Draft, Gamelog, Splits". College Football at Sports-Reference.com. Retrieved December 27, 2024.
  12. ↑ "University of Pittsburgh 1978 Football Media Guide (page 76)".
  13. ↑ "Pitt Football 2024 Media Guide" (PDF).
  14. ↑ "1978 NFL Draft Listing". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved December 27, 2024.
  15. 1 2 3 Mayer, Larry (July 9, 2013). "Cavanaugh driven by will to win Super Bowl". Chicago Bears. Archived from the original on July 13, 2013. Retrieved July 11, 2013.
  16. 1 2 3 "Matt Cavanaugh Stats, Height, Weight, Position, Draft, College". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved December 27, 2024.
  17. ↑ "1984 San Francisco 49ers Rosters, Stats, Schedule, Team Draftees". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved December 27, 2024.
  18. ↑ "1990 New York Giants Rosters, Stats, Schedule, Team Draftees". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved December 27, 2024.
  19. ↑ Zimmerman, Paul (February 4, 1991). "Giants edge out Bills by one point in Super Bowl 25". Sports Illustrated Vault | SI.com. Archived from the original on November 27, 2024. Retrieved December 27, 2024.
  20. ↑ "Steve Grogan Stats, Height, Weight, Position, Draft, College". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved December 27, 2024.
  21. ↑ "1992 Pitt Panthers Roster". College Football at Sports-Reference.com. Retrieved December 27, 2024.
  22. ↑ "1993 Pitt Panthers Roster". College Football at Sports-Reference.com. Retrieved December 27, 2024.
  23. 1 2 3 4 5 "Matt Cavanaugh Record, Statistics, and Category Ranks". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved December 27, 2024.
  24. ↑ "Buddy Ryan Record, Statistics, and Category Ranks". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved December 27, 2024.
  25. ↑ "1996 San Francisco 49ers Roster & Players". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved December 27, 2024.
  26. 1 2 "Dave Wannstedt Record, Statistics, and Category Ranks". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved December 27, 2024.
  27. ↑ "Brian Billick Record, Statistics, and Category Ranks". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved December 27, 2024.
  28. ↑ "Rex Ryan Record, Statistics, and Category Ranks". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved December 27, 2024.
  29. ↑ Mayer, Larry (January 1, 2013). "Bears hire assistant coaches Cavanaugh, Peete". Chicago Bears. Archived from the original on January 21, 2013. Retrieved January 18, 2013.
  30. ↑ "Redskins Promote Matt Cavanaugh To Offensive Coordinator". www.commanders.com. Retrieved December 27, 2024.
  31. ↑ "Sean McVay Record, Statistics, and Category Ranks". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved December 27, 2024.
  32. ↑ "Kevin O'Connell - Los Angeles Rams - NFL". www.nbcsports.com.
  33. ↑ "Senior Offensive Assistant Matt Cavanaugh Has Fully Embraced His New, 'Big Picture' Role". www.commanders.com. Retrieved December 27, 2024.
  34. ↑ "Jay Gruden Record, Statistics, and Category Ranks". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved December 27, 2024.
  35. ↑ Wells, MacGregor (August 25, 2021). "Jets Hire Matt Cavanaugh As Senior Offensive Assistant". Gang Green Nation. Retrieved October 9, 2023.
  36. ↑ "Jets Joint Practice Report | Training Camp Ends for a 'Ridiculously Young Team'". www.newyorkjets.com. Retrieved December 27, 2024.
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