Matt Daniels facts for kids
| Minnesota Vikings | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Position: | Special teams coordinator | ||||
| Personal information | |||||
| Born: | September 27, 1989 Tucson, Arizona, U.S. |
||||
| Height: | 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) | ||||
| Weight: | 211 lb (96 kg) | ||||
| Career information | |||||
| High school: | Fayette County (Fayetteville, Georgia) |
||||
| College: | Duke (2008–2011) | ||||
| Undrafted: | 2012 | ||||
| Career history | |||||
| As player: | |||||
|
|||||
| As coach: | |||||
|
|||||
| Career highlights and awards | |||||
|
|||||
| Career NFL statistics | |||||
|
|||||
Matthew Daniels (born September 27, 1989) is an American football coach. He used to be a player in the National Football League (NFL). Today, he is the special teams coach for the Minnesota Vikings. When he played, he was a safety.
Daniels played college football for the Duke Blue Devils. After college, he joined the St. Louis Rams in 2012.
Contents
Matt Daniels' College Football Career
Matt Daniels played college football for the Duke University Blue Devils. He started playing in 2008 as a first-year student, also called a true freshman. That year, he played in 10 games and made 22 tackles. He also had one interception and recovered one fumble.
In 2009, as a sophomore (second-year student), he was chosen for the Academic All-ACC team. He started all 12 games. He made 83 tackles, which was the third-highest on his team. He also helped stop plays behind the line of scrimmage and caused three fumbles.
In 2010, during his junior year (third year), Daniels was again on the Academic All-ACC team. He started all 12 games. He had 93 total tackles, which was the second-highest on his team. He also broke up seven passes and recovered two fumbles.
In his senior year (fourth year) in 2011, Daniels was named a Second-team All-American. He finished the season with 126 tackles. When he graduated from Duke, he held several school records. These included the most tackles, most forced fumbles, and most pass breakups in the school's history.
Matt Daniels' Professional Playing Career
After college, Matt Daniels played for a few teams in the NFL.
Playing for the St. Louis Rams
In 2012, the St. Louis Rams signed Matt Daniels. He played for them until he was released in August 2014. He briefly rejoined their practice squad in September 2014.
Playing for the Jacksonville Jaguars
Daniels joined the Jacksonville Jaguars practice squad in October 2014. He was moved to the main team in December. He left the team in September 2015 due to an injury.
Playing for the San Diego Chargers
On November 4, 2015, the San Diego Chargers signed Daniels to their practice squad. Later, on December 28, 2015, he was moved to the Chargers' main team roster.
Matt Daniels' Coaching Career
After his playing career, Matt Daniels started coaching football.
In 2017, he worked as a graduate assistant coach for the Colorado football team.
On February 26, 2018, the Los Angeles Rams hired Daniels. He became their assistant special teams coach. He had played for the Rams before, so he knew some of the coaches.
After the 2019 season, he became the assistant special teams coach for the Dallas Cowboys. He worked there for two seasons. In 2022, Matt Daniels joined the Minnesota Vikings as their special teams coach, where he works today.
