Clay Matthews Returns: The Super Bowl Champion and Defensive legend opens up on his football journey, why he went off the grid post NFL career, Netflix analyst, coaching Flag football and his wild new look that had the sports world buzzing.

"I’m a peace with my career. I had nothing else to prove. "Clay Matthews Clay Matthews is back — and he’s giving us the story behind the story, joining Ryan, Channing and Fred to talk all the changes big and small in life. From USC to the NFL, Super Bowl champion, defensive force and one of the most recognizable linebackers of his generation, Clay Matthews sits down for a conversation about the journey that made him — on and off the field. After hanging low for years after retiring, Clay opens up about his rise from USC to Green Bay, winning a Super Bowl, building a defensive legacy and what it really took to compete at the highest level of football. The Super Bowl play to upset the Pittsburgh Steelers is a defining moment in his career but also a painful one for Ryan to revisit as it was his team on the losing end. But this conversation goes beyond the stats, sacks and championships. He gets honest about why he stepped away from the game for so long, what life after football has looked like, and finding purpose outside of the sport that defined so much of his life. And perhaps most importantly, Clay talks about being a dad and coaching his kids in flag football — bringing the same standards of accountability, discipline and respect that were demanded of him throughout his own career. What does it mean to hold your kids to a high standard while still letting them find their own path? We also get into Clay’s next chapter, including his work with Netflix, his evolving role in entertainment and the hilarious viral headlines surrounding his “new look” that had everyone doing a double take this week. Partnering with Caesar's Sportsbook, Clay gave everyone a run for his money when he appeared in public for the first time in years with an enhanced maxxed out look that had the world buzzing if it was really him...shortly after he announced his partnership with Caesar's and how the Sportsbook and app have had some "work done" just as he did to launch this next chapter. This is Clay Matthews beyond the helmet — the competitor, the father, the storyteller, and the man who has figured out the right balance between football and family. Full video episode now streaming on Netflix. The Pivot Podcast a partner of Caesar's Sportsbook. Please play responsibly. Must be 21+ and physically present in AZ, CO, IL, IN, IA, KS, KY, LA, ME, MD, MA,MI, MS, MO, NV, NJ, NY, NC, OH, ON, PA, TN, VA, WV, WY, Washington, DC or Puerto Rico. Know When To Stop Before You Start®. Gambling Problem? CO, IL, KY, MD, MI, MS, MO, NJ, TN, WV, WY, KS (Affiliated with Kansas Crossing Casino), ME (Licensed through the Mi’kmaq Nation, Penobscot Nation, and Houlton Band of Maliseet Indians, federally recognized tribes located in the State of Maine), NC (Licensed through Tribal Casino Gaming Enterprise), PA (Affiliated with Harrah's Philadelphia): If you or someone you know has a gambling problem, crisis counseling and referral services can be accessed by calling 1-800-GAMBLER (1-800-426-2537) or MD: Visit mdgamblinghelp.org (http://mdgamblinghelp.org/) or WV: Visit 1800gambler.net (http://1800gambler.net/); AZ: Call 1-800-NEXT-STEP; IN: Call 1-800-9-WITH-IT; IA: Call 1-800-BETSOFF; OH, VA, LA (Licensed through Horseshoe Bossier City),Washington, DC (OLG Class A licensed operator): Call 1-800-MY-RESET; NV:Call 1-800-522-4700; ON: Visit connexontario.ca (http://connexontario.ca/) or call 1-866-531-2600 or text CONNEX to 247247; Puerto Rico: Call 1-800-981-0023; llame a la línea PAS de ASSMCA 1-800-981-0023. ©2026, Caesars Entertainment. Gambling Problem? Call 1-800-GAMBLER or Call 1-800-MY-RESETMA: Call 1-800-327-5050 or visit gamblinghelplinema.org (http://gamblinghelplinema.org/) NY: Call 877-8-HOPENY or text HOPENY (467369) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Speaker names marked ? are inferred from speaking time and the show’s known hosts — they are not voice-verified.

• 0:00Speaker 00

  Before this,

• 0:05Speaker 00

  there's this.

• 0:08Speaker 00

  As you celebrate the game, take a deeper look at its roots. The people grow in the grass, paving the lots, welding the goalposts, inspecting every football. The hardworking people that make every Sunday possible. Carhartt is proud to outfit the crews behind the game. Visit carhartt.com/jointhetrades to learn more.

• 0:30Ryan Clark?

  If you've seen any pictures of Clay Matthews III lately, you know that dude's been maxed out. But today, we got a much more relaxed version of Clay, and it made for one hell of a conversation. The six-time Pro Bowler had an almost photogenic memory when it came to high school plays and characters, the highs and the struggles at USC, and some of the biggest moments of his NFL career. And the best part? The normally quiet, low-key linebacker just made his Netflix analyst debut. So it was only right we made the trip to Nashville. We got into the Matthews family legacy, the pressures that come with the name, his walk-on journey at USC, and the moment he realized he actually had a shot at playing in the NFL. And then we talked about the hit that changed the Super Bowl, the Defensive Player of the Year

• 1:15Ryan Clark?

  that he narrowly lost to fellow Trojan Troy Polamalu, and the greats he shared the football field with. We talked Clay's life today as well. Those maxed-out paparazzi pics, coaching flag football, and why his teams are always competing, even if it means sending out a few apology emails to parents. Before it's all over, Clay puts on his new hat and gives us his thought on former teammate Aaron Donald's return and his trip to Australia. This is real football, big laughs, great stories, and just a dang good time. So please enjoy this conversation with Clay Matthews III as he sits with me, Chan, and Freddie T.

• 2:14Ryan Clark?

  Yeah, it would be better to be like young and single.

• 2:17Channing Crowder?

  Yes.

• 2:18Ryan Clark?

  In Nashville.

• 2:19Channing Crowder?

  I came here at 37 for the first time.

• 2:21Ryan Clark?

  Yeah, my first time.

• 2:23Speaker 03

  Just stay away from Broadway. See, I'm old and I got land. So that's

• 2:28Channing Crowder?

  Yeah, you could.

• 2:28Speaker 03

  Cutting grass, chopping wood.

• 2:30Channing Crowder?

  Yeah.

• 2:31Speaker 03

  That's what keeps me busy.

• 2:32Ryan Clark?

  I ain't chopping no wood.

• 2:33Channing Crowder?

  I've chopped some wood in my life, but I think we're talking about different things.

• 2:36Ryan Clark?

  The way my body put together, I ain't chopping wood. Clay Matthews III, man. Welcome to the Pivot. This is Channing Crowder, Fred Taylor, Ryan Clark. Pivot fam, think you guys should pivot in with us. Bruh, I'm actually shocked we could recognize you. You know, I was expecting that you look a little different when you walked in here. You know, some tone here, right? You know, a little swole up in this area. Your face maxed out, biceps crazy.

• 3:03Speaker 03

  I lost those.

• 3:04Ryan Clark?

  Bruh, I saw you putting the groceries in the trunk and them calves. I was like, hell, I'm trying to get some for real.

• 3:12Speaker 03

  No, I know, a lot of photos circulating. We just teased that thing. But ultimately, I partnered with Caesar Sportsbook this year. They came to me early on and said, hey, we want to partner with you. We're completely revamping our Sportsbook app. New user interface, more rewards, easier to navigate. And they said, we've completely transformed ourselves in part of this campaign, the "we've had some work done" campaign. They're like, we want you to have some work done as well. So actually, Caesar's hired Drew Ski's prosthetics crew.

• 3:42Ryan Clark?

  That's the one there.

• 3:42Speaker 03

  They were, yeah, however you feel, one way or the other. So they did a fantastic job. We did the looks maxing, the Giga Chad look with the jaw and the chin and the calves and the arms. I think I was in the makeup chair for like four hours. But it was a lot of fun. And ultimately, with football season kicking off, if you're already betting with Caesar Sportsbook app, we're just jumping in. It's a great way to enhance the viewing experience of the upcoming season. So it was a great partnership. Real happy to be teaming with them. And yeah, it was all just a joke, but hopefully, it looks like you guys got a kick.

• 4:11Ryan Clark?

  Nah, it was fun, man, the maxed-out face, you know?

• 4:14Speaker 03

  Yeah.

• 4:14Ryan Clark?

  That's better than pheromone maxing, by the way.

• 4:16Channing Crowder?

  Better than pheromone.

• 4:17Ryan Clark?

  You know what I mean? Nah, but it's really cool, man, just to have that partnership and have you be a part of it as well. Because I was like, man, shoot, if Clay's a part of something, like, that's a big deal, right? Like you talked about a little bit earlier, man. We were just, before we started filming, you out here chopping wood and cutting grass.

• 4:32Speaker 03

  Yeah.

• 4:33Ryan Clark?

  So I know if you pop out, man, it's for a good reason. I think it's really cool, bro, to be here in Nashville and get an opportunity to sit with you. But before we start, I got a bonus pick. Let's talk a little bit about early fourth quarter. You know, Dallas, Texas, Super Bowl, 21-17. Momentum has shifted at this point.

• 4:57Speaker 03

  It had.

• 4:58Ryan Clark?

  Right? It had shifted. Pittsburgh Steelers on the 33. Getting physical up front. Hand the ball off to Rashard Mendenhall. Not really sure how it happened, right? All I see is hair flowing in the back. Big time hit, ball pops in the air. Ryan Pickett recovers it, and the Green Bay Packers are the only way to win the Super Bowl. Next thing I know, confetti's falling on my head. Mike Tomlin's put his arm around me as we're walking off the field. I didn't want to like you when you walked in, bro. I wanted to have beef. But you're actually really cool.

• 5:31Speaker 03

  Well, I appreciate that.

• 5:32Ryan Clark?

  Nah, but, man, talk a little bit, though, about that, man. You know, we'll get into the story. But walk on at USC, actually get to watch one of the greatest college football teams of all time. You become a first-round pick, man, but immediate success in the league. But bring me to that play specifically. What's going through your mind as momentum is shifting a little bit? And then making one of the biggest plays in Super Bowl history?

• 5:57Speaker 03

  Yeah, so I got to give all the credit to Kevin Green, who's not here with us anymore.

• 6:01Ryan Clark?

  Rest his soul.

• 6:02Speaker 03

  But we had, in film study, gone over that play a few times. And I think, like you had said, was it the first play of the fourth quarter? Momentum had completely shifted after we were up 21-3 early. And, man, I just saw it. We were open, me cover seven. I think when it's unbalanced, not unbalanced, but when the formations away, I stack. And then the tight end came over. So I said, I know what's coming. So you hear me in NFL Films. I got Ryan Pickett down there saying, hey, Pickett, spill it. Because I knew someone would be pulling.

• 6:36Ryan Clark?

  Yep.

• 6:36Speaker 03

  And I just came right off his butt and just, ah! Just got Rashard right when he had the ball and it popped up. I'm, you know, looking. Desmond Bishop scoops it up. We're on the road to Super Bowl XLV victory. But it was a big play. And quite honestly, the game plan going into that game was keep bending the pocket. So if you remember, I wanted to rush the passer. But that's how you guys were beating cats was, you know, he would escape, he would do his thing, he'd find somebody downfield. So I was playing patty cake with the center all game. I felt like I wasn't, you know, like, I just wasn't making an impact. So I was fortunate to have seen that, to have recognized it, made that play. And, you know, Aaron has said it's arguably the biggest play in that game.

• 7:21Speaker 03

  Just swing the momentum back.

• 7:22Ryan Clark?

  Absolutely, man.

• 7:23Channing Crowder?

  It got to be the biggest play in your career.

• 7:26Speaker 03

  Yeah.

• 7:27Channing Crowder?

  Is that it?

• 7:28Speaker 03

  Yeah, that's probably the biggest play. Everybody always asks me, what's my favorite play? It might not be my favorite play. I mean, it should be, like, if I'm just playing the politics game, but...

• 7:37Ryan Clark?

  Well, what's your favorite play?

• 7:38Speaker 03

  My favorite play was my rookie year. I was hurt in training camp, so I wasn't starting when I came in. I was third-down pass rusher. And we played Brett Favre, Adrian Peterson. I think it was Sunday Night Football, Monday Night Football up there. And it was the first time, you know, Favre and Rodgers were going against each other. And I still wasn't starting, but I was lined over. Kleinsauser, big old tight end. I'm in a, I think I'm in a six technique, got hairy forearms and whatnot. I'm just a little kid out of Southern California hair. And I, you know, stung him like this. We go down the edge and AP runs inside. I'm able to spin back and I rip the ball out with my left hand. Sticks right here, and I run it for 40 yards for a touchdown.

• 8:21Speaker 03

  And I have the gall to take the ball and throw it up in the stands like on Monday. I felt like I was running on air. That's my favorite play right there. Because up to that point, you had alluded to it, my college career, my high school career was nothing. So for me, to do something like that on that grand of a stage, like, I was just like, this is what I want to do. I want to be great. I want to start. I want to get sacks. I want to do it all. So that's probably my favorite play.

• 8:46Fred Taylor?

  I'm going to go back. I was just in Vegas. I married, my daughter got married on the 29th. But before that, I had rooms over at Caesar's Palace. So naturally, I had to slide to the Sportsbook, put in a couple early-season favorites. Green Bay on that list, though, for Super Bowl wins this year. It's another NFC team, but I digress. I do want to ask you this, though. Walking on to USC, so much, so many superstars. The run you guys had was historical, obviously.

• 9:20Fred Taylor?

  Did you feel intimidated or anything as a walk-on? Being on the team, having to be a special teams star, all that stuff? Like, kind of walk us through that whole thing.

• 9:29Speaker 03

  Yeah, well, let me take you back to high school. So, my dad was our defensive coordinator in high school. And I didn't go to some powerhouse or whatnot. It was just a bunch of white boys on the team. We played hard, we were coached well. And ultimately, I didn't start my junior year. I went, I developed real late. And then going into my senior year, I put on like 40 pounds and grew a couple inches, but I still wasn't, wasn't that guy. So, I wasn't recruited at all. Walked on at USC where my father, my uncle, my mother had gone. It was close to home. They were rolling at the time, I think, coming off an Orange Bowl win over Iowa. So, it made sense to me as far as like, that's the path I'm gonna take. But man, when I got down there and I was playing with these five-star athletes and blue-chip, you know, recruits, I remember calling home. And I don't shy away from this, I've talked about this.

• 10:14Speaker 03

  I called my dad crying one, no, I came home during training camp. And when I sat at the kitchen table, I don't wanna do this anymore. In tears, like, I was playing look team running back and, you know, just wasn't, wasn't having fun. But, you know, he's like, when you sign up to do something, we finish it. So, at the end of the year, let's chat. Obviously, once I got into the groove of it and, you know, kind of found my rhythm, found my niche, which was just scout team at the time. But, yeah, you know, I had fun. Just slowly developed over time. Put on a little bit more weight, just kind of got into the routine. Redshirt freshman year, 2000, that was 2004. So, we ended up winning the national championship against Oklahoma that year. Obviously, undefeated season, lot of fun.

• 10:54Speaker 03

  2005, Todd McNair, who was a running back in the NFL, who made his name playing special teams. He played with my uncle in Houston for the Oilers. And so, he gave me a shot, cuz he's like, I'm gonna give you a shot on kickoff. So, I just, you know, I just ran down there, running into the wedge. And that's kind of how I made my name. So, I, I think by the time that year ended, we're playing Vince Young in the national championship. But I think I was on kickoff and maybe, you know, punt or kickoff return. I was on a few of the special teams. And then it just, it progressed from there. I just continued to, and I, man, I already forget your question. I'm over here telling you about my whole career. I'm like, man, I just feel like I'm telling you a biography right now.

• 11:37Fred Taylor?

  It is perfect, because I just kind of wanted to know if, how intimidating it was with all of that superstar, the five-stars and all of those talented players.

• 11:46Ryan Clark?

  That's when Reggie Bush was going crazy.

• 11:49Speaker 03

  Yeah, I remember, I lied to some of the, you know, I came in there and they're like, how many, you know, how many scholarships you have? I was just mentioning schools, they would never, Arizona State, Idaho. I had zero scholarship opportunities. So, I was just, you know, and I wanted to fit in, which is already hard enough as is when you're a walk-on back then, cuz it's kind of like, you know, you just do your thing over there. But it was very intimidating. But, you know, once I found my feet and just got into the routine of it, you know, I, I just did my thing.

• 12:15Channing Crowder?

  I'll tell you why you didn't have a scholarship, cuz pops benched you. How you, how you, like, dad?

• 12:21Speaker 03

  No nepotism now.

• 12:22Channing Crowder?

  Put me in the game, pops. Like, I can't get a little run, I can't get no film?

• 12:26Speaker 03

  I wasn't, I really wasn't that good. Like, he had every right to. I said, it makes for a good story. It's kind of like when Pete Carroll didn't play me till my senior year, like, ah, he didn't, I wasn't that good. I just developed late. But yeah, pops didn't play me, rightfully so. Senior year, I was good, good for my league, good for the division. But I wasn't hanging with, I'm thinking of some of the five-star recruit, like Keith Rivers that year coming out of Florida, like, I had no business being in the same conversation, so.

• 12:51Channing Crowder?

  I hosted Keith Rivers when he came to UF.

• 12:54Speaker 03

  What happened then?

• 12:55Channing Crowder?

  We got drunk.

• 12:57Speaker 03

  Oh, I mean, like, what happened?

• 13:00Speaker 03

  Because he went to SC. That's a Florida boy right there.

• 13:03Channing Crowder?

  He was never coming to Florida, he just came out there to hang out. He told me at the beginning of it, he's like, man, I'm not coming way out here. He's a California dude, I'm not coming way out here.

• 13:11Speaker 03

  But he, but he was from Lake Mary, Florida?

• 13:13Channing Crowder?

  But he wanted to come out, out there. They just begged him, they begged him to come to UF for just a visit. He was a big old dude now. I don't know why he didn't make it, but yeah.

• 13:21Speaker 03

  Well, he, he was top, I think he was the number ninth overall pick in, oh, wait, right?

• 13:25Ryan Clark?

  I can tell you part of it.

• 13:26Speaker 03

  Heinz Ward.

• 13:27Ryan Clark?

  Heinz Ward. Crackback, broke his jaw.

• 13:31Speaker 03

  Back, back when it was legal.

• 13:33Ryan Clark?

  Yep. One of the, like legitimately, one of the craziest things I've ever seen. Because you know, Heinz don't have no muscles, no ACLs, any of those things. But when it came to that, like, he was second to none. And Keith is running toward our sideline, Heinz going back toward the end zone. And he hits him, basically like flips him over and he sits up and he just doesn't move. And he broke his jaw, man. Yeah, that was, it was a different time. It was a different time.

• 13:58Channing Crowder?

  That was real football.

• 13:59Speaker 03

  He was my roommate, so that's how I knew what it was. I had watched him. Was that his rookie year or?

• 14:03Ryan Clark?

  Yeah, he was young.

• 14:04Speaker 03

  Yeah.

• 14:04Ryan Clark?

  He was young, man.

• 14:05Speaker 03

  And, you know.

• 14:07Channing Crowder?

  Football.

• 14:07Speaker 03

  I broke my jaw too, but it's, it's a tough one to, to come back from, just, you know, with the weight loss, just.

• 14:13Ryan Clark?

  It's hard, man.

• 14:13Speaker 03

  Wiring your mouth shut and whatnot.

• 14:15Ryan Clark?

  You got a maxed-out jaw now. Say, bruh, have y'all seen Clay Matthews? I'm talking new and improved. That's maxed face, biceps swole up, and them calf implants. See, y'all already know, I'd wear shorts if I had some of them.

• 14:32Channing Crowder?

  RC, that man definitely has some work done. You know who else did? Caesar's Sportsbook. Man, you gotta check it out. Better design, rewards, and I'm telling you, great ways to play. I love the flex parlays. You're still alive if you miss a leg.

• 14:45Fred Taylor?

  And you know I love the injury protection. If your player exits before halftime and doesn't return, they got you covered.

• 14:50Speaker 03

  So, bet with Caesar's Sportsbook, the app that's been nipped and tucked to perfection.

• 14:57Channing Crowder?

  You must be 21 years or older to play with Caesar's Sportsbook. And remember, betting should always be fun. If you or someone you know struggles with gambling problems, help is available in every state where Caesar's operates. You can call 1-800-GAMBLER or 1-800-MYRESSET for assistance. In Massachusetts, call 1-800-327-5050 or visit gamblinghelplinema.org. And in New York, call 877-8HOPENY or text HOPENY, that's 467-369. Please play responsibly.

• 15:38Ryan Clark?

  Can you speak a little bit about family legacy too, right? You, bro, y'all had like 10 pounds babies at birth in your family. And if you was running around at like 165 in high school, you know, I know Lisa, my high school, we would've been in my shoe. You ain't nothing like your people.

• 15:53Speaker 03

  Yeah.

• 15:54Ryan Clark?

  You know, right, that, that level of pressure and then having to grow into being a great player.

• 15:59Speaker 03

  But you had mentioned earlier, like, you know, when I came in the league, I had immediate success. Not only because of physically, the genetic makeup that I had, but also the way I came up. So, yes, there was pressure, but a lot of that was external. Like, hey, man, you got some big shoes to fill. Are you gonna be like your daddy? And it was never like that for me. I never, I didn't even watch the NFL growing up, other than when I went to my dad's games. And then I was never a real big fan, other than like, I was supposed to like it. I wasn't a fanatic by any means. So, I kind of just naturally grew a love for the game that I felt came natural to me. And he never pushed me. The only time he ever pushed me was when he wanted me to work out with him at Gold's Gym.

• 16:41Speaker 03

  And I kept, I kept, I couldn't even do the bar at the time and it was embarrassing. And we had the neck machine and he had the brown paper towel, you know, the hard ones in the bathroom, putting it on, on the face. I'm like, dad, I don't wanna, I don't wanna do this. This was sixth grade, but, no, I, I just naturally grew a love for the game. And then with his tutelage and him being a mentor, I was like, oh, cool, just put it all together.

• 17:02Ryan Clark?

  Yeah. You mentioned Keith already, but bro, there was also Ray, right? Brian Kush, Cushing. Like, just like, that, even that class, I think what it was, you know, in the first round, like, you went in the first round, Kush went in the first round, Ray went in the second round. You had Keith. So, talk a little bit about that room at USC, all those great players, and how that also helps you progress in that competition.

• 17:26Speaker 03

  Yeah, even before those dudes, I played with Grudigood. I know he was an undersized dude, but he, he might've been two-time All-American. Lofa Tutupu. And then, you know, obviously Keith Rivers, Ray, Kush, Kaluka, all these guys. And like you had mentioned in our year, we had two first-rounders, second-rounder, fourth-rounder. We also had Feely Mawala, defensive lineman. I think he might've gone second round. Kevin Ellison was a late-rounder. Want to say we had 11 guys drafted. But it was cool, man. We, we were, and hopefully you guys got to experience this with some of your teammates. Like, we competed against one another. And that's what Pete took such pride in, that was his thing. Compete, you know, compete, always compete. And in college, it works, you know, maybe not this past year with the Raiders, but it worked. You know, you gotta buy in.

• 18:11Speaker 03

  This was, this was NCAA time. But we were always getting after it. Who's gonna get the most publicity? Who's gonna get the most sacks? Who's gonna get the most tackles? Whatever it was, it was a healthy relationship. And we still, literally opened up my phone this morning, we got the linebacker group chat still going. So, we've got a great relationship. Those are my guys. Man, I can't, and honestly, without them, you know, pushing me to be, to get where I needed to go and playing at a school like that, cuz the reality is, if I would've gone to any other school, let's just take, you know, I'd mentioned Arizona, Arizona State. And I've had the career in which I did. I only had four and a half sacks my senior year. Like, I'm not getting drafted in the first round. So, I recognize by being on a stage like that, it only, you know, propelled me, pushed me up because of the gentlemen around me.

• 18:54Channing Crowder?

  And Clay, so, you did, you weren't trying to chase your uncle or your dad. You weren't trying to live up to the name. You didn't need money. Your family had bread.

• 19:05Speaker 03

  You don't really hand it down like that, you know what I'm saying? But.

• 19:08Channing Crowder?

  You, you weren't gonna worry about eating on a Wednesday night. Like, you know the stories, like, single mother, three kids, you know, I, I was trying to make it. So, like, so what fueled you if you weren't trying to live up to the name and wasn't worried about money? Was it, like, what fueled you to work? Because it's hard as hell to be good at football like you were.

• 19:24Speaker 03

  Well, I honestly believe it was going through that fire in college. You know, not being that guy, being shit on, playing scout team, like, just an afterthought. Kind of built like a callus of resilience to when I was handed the keys, when you're drafted in the first round to Green Bay and they give up three draft picks, you're like, I'm not going back to that. Like, I'm, I'm gonna run with this thing now. And like I said, I mean, I had, you know, with what my dad and uncle were able to do, played 19 years, grandfather played, cousin's still playing in year 12, whatever it is with the Falcons, like, I knew, you know, it was just a matter of time that I felt. So, for me, like, and then once I got it, it's just, it's infectious.

• 20:08Speaker 03

  You know, once you start having some success and you start being that guy, and success to me was measured in how many fans are in the stands and wearing your jerseys and commercial opportunities and endorsements that you get. So, you know, that's just, that's just what drove me.

• 20:29Speaker 00

  There's this.

• 20:32Speaker 00

  As you celebrate the game, take a deeper look at its roots. The people growing the grass, paving the lots, welding the goalposts, inspecting every football. The hardworking people that make every Sunday possible. Carhartt is proud to outfit the crews behind the game. Visit carhartt.com/jointhetrades to learn more.

• 20:54Fred Taylor?

  Hey Clay, I wanna, I wanna go back to family. I know we're talking about family, man, but the legacy of the Matthews name. I wanna ask you about the Matthews Mount Rushmore though, and this one might be a little tricky, right? You mentioned your uncle. Your uncle played 20 years. I played during the time when Bruce played. 14 time Pro Bowler, your dad played 19 years. Fourth time Pro Bowler. Yourself 11 years, six time Pro Bowler. Your brother Casey, fourth round, 116th pick, good career. You mentioned your grandfather, but I wanna add your mother to that list. Who's on the Matthews Mount Rushmore?

• 21:33Speaker 03

  Of those that you just mentioned? Well, you gotta start with my uncle. He's in the Hall of Fame. I think he's tied with, I think Peyton and maybe Merlin Olson with most.

• 21:41Fred Taylor?

  293 games.

• 21:42Speaker 03

  Is that, is that what it is? Yeah, it's just, and it's crazy because I grew up and I remember my dad coaching me. I was, you know, hard headed, still am, but like he would coach me and, you know, I'd have something to say behind his back just because I, you know, it's like growing up. What do you know? You know, and it's not until like now that I'm retired and out of the league, like, yeah, 19 years to do it at a linebacker, you know, like, or an offensive lineman like my uncle. We just took that for granted and it's only in hindsight now that I'm retired 11 years and had the success I did that I'm like, golly, like they got after it. But like it's gotta start with him. It's gotta start with him just because of what he was able to do. And my father as well, I think he's played the most games as a linebacker.

• 22:24Speaker 03

  I think Sayo had 20 years, but my father played 19, uh, maybe. I think he's up there like top three with maybe London Fletcher, Ray Lewis for most tackles. Like you look at every statistical category and he should be in the Hall of Fame, my father. He was, he was close his last year. I think it was the 25th year when you go to the senior committee and they had said like, hey, you had finished sixth that year. It's like, oh, so he's gotta go to the senior committee and, and, and wait now. But you gotta put them both on there and then, um, I mean, I won a Super Bowl. You know what I'm saying? Like, can I throw myself?

• 22:59Speaker 03

  Bruce played when they played the greatest show on turf and they had that, that, that loss.

• 23:04Fred Taylor?

  99.

• 23:05Speaker 03

  Yeah, at the end, I don't know Jake and Jake too, like he's just quiet. Like, uh, they had a hype video for the Falcons and he was probably one of the only ones who wasn't in it. Just because like I know he doesn't wanna do that stuff. He doesn't, he's very much like Bruce where he's just under the radar, just do your job. Never interested in all that comes along with fame and money and, and stardom. So, I mean, yeah, just put father, son duo in that top four. Unless you're alluding to that, I gotta put my mom up there.

• 23:33Fred Taylor?

  No, no, the reason I, cause she has to hold down the house. It's a lot of testosterone, like it takes a woman, a woman to hold all that shit together.

• 23:42Speaker 03

  No, you're right.

• 23:43Fred Taylor?

  And that's the only reason I say I'll throw you a curve ball and, and put mom.

• 23:46Speaker 03

  No, you're right. Well, listen, she's, uh, you know, obviously she's my mother. She's amazing, but you're right. I mean, between all of us, all the sports we played, five children, four boys in our family. And we were always doing everything, you know, baseball, basketball, football, soccer, you name it. She was there, you know, we always, you know, I don't think she likes this term, but like she was like the tomboy. She'd be playing basketball with us in the, uh, they came to driveway rolling her ankle. But yeah, she was always there because dad was, he was still playing ball. I was, um, he retired when I was in fifth grade and my other brother, my oldest, my sister was a sophomore in high school. Like that's crazy to think that you could still be playing and maybe, maybe you guys have done that where you've had.

• 24:30Speaker 03

  But for me, part of the reason getting out of the league was because, you know, when the Rams let me go, I was like, what? I got three young kids, you know, we're back in California where I grew up. Like, do I wanna keep chasing this? And that was also something my dad said, like you, you got nothing left to prove. Like, you know, he, he did it for 19 years, but money was different then, you know? He's like, you got nothing else to prove. You know, I was like, I mean, you're right in some regards.

• 24:56Ryan Clark?

  But it was that easy to retire? You do it your whole life. You go through the grind, you go through the scout team, you do all this stuff you're talking about, and then you just said, oh, football. Okay, let's go.

• 25:06Speaker 03

  I played in 2019 with the Rams. I started off six sacks, five games. Playing with Aaron Donald was amazing, by the way, because it was the first time since my rookie year where I wasn't that guy. I was an afterthought. He did all the work. I was just falling into sacks left and right. And when I had my one on ones, I won them.

• 25:21Ryan Clark?

  Right.

• 25:21Speaker 03

  But, um, broke my jaw. We had talked about that, came back, finished strong. And I'm thinking, I signed for, you know, peanuts over there. I had an opportunity at Baltimore. Actually, I'm gonna digress from the story. Baltimore was coming off a, a poor year and they got this young quarterback, Lamar Jackson. I'm like, man, hey, he ain't gonna do nothing. They go like 14 and two that year. They got 10 Pro Bowler. I'm like, and I get cut from the Rams. So I thought I was getting a raise, but Seattle had reached out to me. Bruce Irvin went down the next year. Denver had reached out, but these were two teams that had fallen on tough times at that point in maybe 2020, whatever it was. COVID was going on and yeah, I just was like, man, I think, I think I'm good.

• 26:05Speaker 03

  There were a lot of selfish intentions, specifically with sacks. You know, I'm at 91 and a half career regular season sacks. I like to count my postseason because I did all right in the postseason and usually 100 is the barometer for Hall of Fame. But I was like, what, what am I doing it for then? And, and, and when is enough enough? When is enough money enough? When is enough sacks enough? And so I'm at peace with my career. My dad always said that I'm at peace with my career. Yeah, of course. Other things that, you know, you wish you could have done differently or, or changed, like, of course. But for large part, for those 11 years, like I'm at peace with my career.

• 26:37Ryan Clark?

  I think that's the, the thing we all wanna do though. If you can walk away and say, you know what, I'm comfortable or I'm content with what God gave me. It makes it so much different. My son was starting high school. When I retired and he had told me, he's in the eighth grade. I was driving him to school and he's like, Pop, I wanna play college ball. And I was like, I can help with that. And just remembering thinking to myself, I wanna be there every Friday night. I wanna train him when I get opportunities. And so that does become a piece of it. You mentioned playing with Aaron Donald and I think it goes well because now we're talking about retirement, those things, your new job as well with Netflix. What do you think about that though? Like you talk about getting one on ones and not being the guy.

• 27:18Ryan Clark?

  He been the guy his whole life and now he's gonna be lined up next to the dude that's the dude now in Myles Garrett.

• 27:24Speaker 03

  I don't doubt that he has kept himself in phenomenal shape, but I, I wonder about his mind because just one, I took one off season off and they were calling me saying, hey, we want you to come back. You know, week one, when Bruce Irvin went down against the Seahawks, I think it was week one, early in the season. I'm like, man, do I still got it? I haven't trained, I wasn't there for mini camp, OTAs, it's just like you have those doubts. This guy doesn't take one year off, but two years off is like, yeah. And he, and he's saying, he's not underselling and over delivering or underselling, at least at this point. He's saying I could, I can be that guy again, which is remarkable to me and it just shows his mindset. And also just having played with him, just in such awe of not only the, the physical specimen he is, but just his, his mentality, his mindset, playing with him.

• 28:07Speaker 03

  I mean, it was just, it was a real pleasure and I played with, you know, Charles Woodson, Julius Peppers, but you know, AD is just a different beast. So if there's anyone that can do it, it's him. I wouldn't be surprised, but I'll tell you what, I think he talks about, AD that is, talks about Myles Garrett taking double and triple teams. Like, no, I, I think Myles Garrett's gonna be the one that benefits from AD coming back more than the other way around. Just because you know how it is, he's gonna, AD's gonna play zero, three, five. He's gonna get immediate pressure. It's a lot easier to game plan against a pass rusher on the edge. And I say that despite him getting 23 sacks last year than it is somebody in the middle who can move around.

• 28:46Speaker 03

  So I'm as a pass rusher, as a defensive minded guy, like I'm excited to see what they can do.

• 28:54Ryan Clark?

  Well, you could be damn good at the new job.

• 28:55Fred Taylor?

  If Caesar's sports book had, let's say a line over, under 23 sacks for Myles Garrett, which way you going?

• 29:05Speaker 03

  I got, listen, I just think you gotta play the law of averages. Like I'm gonna say under just because like he's the first person to have done that. What was it 22 and a half for TJ and Michael Strahan for the longest time?

• 29:17Fred Taylor?

  But when you throw AD into the mix?

• 29:20Speaker 03

  No, you're absolutely right, but, but can we get through one sample size of, you know, coming back and seeing what he's got?

• 29:25Ryan Clark?

  Half sack sometimes.

• 29:28Speaker 03

  Right?

• 29:31Speaker 03

  But honestly, if they, I'm not sure if, who knows? I mean, hopefully he does just because it's good for sport, but I think, I mean, that's a team that could have. 60 sacks by the end of the year, like they could be in that upper echelon, like top five of all time with Team Sacks and yeah, especially with the backend acquisitions too, McDuffie, Watson, like it should be good.

• 29:51Ryan Clark?

  You mentioned, you know, endorsements and different things.

• 29:55Speaker 03

  What you looking at?

• 29:56Ryan Clark?

  I want to go back to the Soul Sports Illustrated cover, Clay, Band of Brothers, you know, USC linebackers, Brian Cushion, Ray, say that.

• 30:06Speaker 03

  Maualuga.

• 30:07Ryan Clark?

  There you go, Clay Matthews, they're ready to rock the NFL, bro, this picture, this is actually really hard, dawg.

• 30:14Speaker 03

  Appreciate that.

• 30:15Ryan Clark?

  Dawg, this is, so when you guys are getting to that point, right, people knew Brian and Ray would be that, you're now headed into the NFL. After that journey and they come to you and they like, hey man, we want you to be on the cover of Sports Illustrated, headed into the draft, how much did you take that moment in as part of the journey to that point?

• 30:39Speaker 03

  Well, first off, I gotta shout out my college roommate Kaluka Maeva because he was Rose Bowl Defensive MVP at one point, I think Ray might have had it one year, Kush had it one year and Kaluka as well, but they didn't put Kaluka on there, he was a fourth round pick to Cleveland, but getting back to your question, starting that season, starting my senior season, I was back to being a third, let me take you to spring ball, let me take you back even further, okay? So Cushion comes back for his senior year and I wanted him selfishly to go to the league because I wasn't going to play, I wasn't better than him, I was like, I'm not going to shy away from that, he was a dog and he had a great career, but ultimately I started

• 31:22Speaker 03

  flashing a little bit, this was my fifth year at SC and so Pete switched our defense over to this bear front, he called a 0-2-3's and 2 stand-up pass rushes, really a 3-4.

• 31:34Ryan Clark?

  Hell.

• 31:34Speaker 03

  Because he had to get, he said I had to get Clay on the field, so I was, and also Everson Griffin was one of these highly touted recruits coming out of Arizona and he had a fantastic NFL career as well, but he was playing as well, so he was playing in first and second, I was coming in, maybe I was switching in every third down, so we opened up against Virginia, it's hot as hell down there, I go out, I rip off a sack, forced fumble, like two recovered fumbles and you know, the newspaper's starting to talk like, hey, here's a seventh-rounder projected like free agent to keep an eye on, he's got a good last name, good genetics, week two, I think we come back and play Ohio State at

• 32:14Speaker 03

  the Coliseum, we route them like 35-3, I get a sack coming off the edge, this is when Sean Merriman was rolling, so I hold up the lights out, hey, there's a fumble on the ground and then there's a picture of me like this, holding up the lights out, coach is yelling at me afterwards like, go after the ball, but we played Oregon State too in week three or week four, we actually lost, our only loss of that 2008 season up there in Corvallis, but got after the quarterback again, was really starting to flash and at that point it was like, yo, he might be like a third, second, third-rounder and the rest of the season just kind of went on and did my thing and we were on the number one defense at the time, like I had said earlier, that only, you know, propelled me up and by the

• 32:55Speaker 03

  time season had finished and we're getting ready for the combine, I'm training with these other three dogs at inside linebacker, so my name was kind of thrown in with them, but I also, when we went to the combine, I think of those three other linebackers and everybody else, I was, I had really good times, I tested really well and I think it just all aligned, I needed one team to believe in me, because you're right, like my resume was not good, but I needed someone to see the potential, that's what Ted Thompson, who has since passed and the Green Bay Packers saw, Kevin Green, they were like, I want this guy, because of his dad, because of his lineage, because of his numbers, because of, he's got a lot, he's got a lot more tread on the tires, is what I'd like to think, so like I said earlier,

• 33:40Speaker 03

  once they were like, that's our guy, let's do it.

• 33:44Fred Taylor?

  No doubt. That's crazy, I do want to throw another loop here, RC said he didn't know what he was going to think when you walked through the door, you're going to pivot, if Troy Palamalu walks through the door, what you thinking? Because he beat you by 2 votes that year.

• 33:59Speaker 03

  Yeah.

• 34:00Fred Taylor?

  And also, would you trade that Super Bowl ring for that?

• 34:03Speaker 03

  You know what's funny, like I remember, he did beat me by 2 votes, we got history though, because he went to USC.

• 34:10Fred Taylor?

  Yeah.

• 34:11Speaker 03

  My older brother played at USC at the time and Troy, as you know, like soft-spoken, mild-mannered, he called my dad Mr. Matthews all the time and so I was introduced to Troy as a young kid and looked up to him, in fact, we played the Steelers, I'm not sure if you were with them at the time, in 2009, okay, and we had, I think y'all won on like a last...

• 34:36Ryan Clark?

  It was a shootout, Mike Wallace catches the ball.

• 34:38Speaker 03

  Yes, in the corner.

• 34:39Ryan Clark?

  In the corner.

• 34:40Speaker 03

  Yes. Man, we were supposed to contain the sideline, or guard the sideline, you know, we gave it up, but I had, I think I had like 2 sacks and Troy came up to me, it was the first time I was starstruck, you know, just from knowing him and stuff, and the loss and whatnot of that game, he's like, he didn't play that game, and he's like, Clay, man, it's so good to see, you know, this, and I'm like, and he's just like, God bless, you know, one of those things, I was like, man, I couldn't even say these things.

• 35:06Ryan Clark?

  No question, that's him.

• 35:07Speaker 03

  But no, Troy, listen, I'm happy for Troy, I love Troy, I've obviously followed his career, he's just been the consummate professional and not just on the field, but in life as well, and then obviously being a former Trojan, I said all the right things, like, oh, I'd much rather take a Super Bowl win than an MVP, but that's tough, because I've heard these, it was Larry Fitzgerald and I think Joe Thomas talk about, would you switch your Hall of Fame jacket for a Super Bowl? And they say the right things, nah, we're one of 400 people, this and that, but Defensive MVP would have been pretty cool, because that's elite company right there, so I'll just take NFC Defensive Player of the Year and stop there.

• 35:47Fred Taylor?

  You was a bad motherfucker, man.

• 35:48Speaker 03

  It is what it is.

• 35:49Fred Taylor?

  No, no, you were fucking great, bro, 100%.

• 35:51Ryan Clark?

  That was the cool part about going into that game though, the Super Bowl, because we were really good too.

• 35:57Speaker 03

  Number one defense.

• 35:58Ryan Clark?

  Yeah.

• 35:59Speaker 03

  Number two defense.

• 36:00Ryan Clark?

  Two defense, and I want to talk though about that Green Bay defense, I think a name people don't speak of as much as they should is Nick Collins.

• 36:07Speaker 03

  Collins.

• 36:08Ryan Clark?

  Absolute, absolute baller, right?

• 36:10Speaker 03

  Yeah.

• 36:11Ryan Clark?

  HBCU, but has the pick six, y'all get pressure on Ben, that's a huge play in the game, I mean, Charles Woodson, who was the Defensive Player of the Year.

• 36:18Speaker 03

  2009, yeah.

• 36:19Ryan Clark?

  You know, 2009, in my opinion, the best all-around defensive back I've ever seen, you know, when you guys are going on that run, and that was kind of like right before Aaron became, really became Aaron, that team was carried by that defense, what did it feel like, man, every time y'all walking into stadiums and having them conversations that I know we would have and we'd be like, hey man, they might not score today against us.

• 36:45Speaker 03

  Well, let me take you back to the season, because that season, like 2009, we were 11-5, we lose in a shootout, I want to say in Arizona, Carlos Dansby, there's somebody sacks A-Rod, he kicks the ball up, I want to say it was Carlos Dansby, you know, grabs it, runs in and it's just like, we lost like 51-49, something like that, so the next year, you know how it is, every year you're going to win the Super Bowl, right? But we, our offense like really wasn't that good that year, like you had said, Aaron didn't become Aaron until that postseason, but our defense was playing incredibly well and we had to win our last 2 games to get into the playoffs, we were 8-8, in fact, it was Deshaun Jackson who ran back that punt return against the New York Giants, if I can take you back, that kept us alive.

• 37:29Ryan Clark?

  Okay.

• 37:30Speaker 03

  And you remember, it was, who was the coach of?

• 37:31Ryan Clark?

  That's when Tom Coughlin was pissed off.

• 37:32Speaker 03

  Yes, and he was yelling at the punter, like, why'd you kick it to him? That kept us in, so we had to win our last 2 games to get in, we smacked the Giants and then we squeaked by Chicago, who was, they were already locked in as the number 2 seed.

• 37:45Ryan Clark?

  Yeah.

• 37:46Speaker 03

  So then we go on the road to Philadelphia, now, we beat them in week 1 when they had Kevin Cobb, but Michael Vick started and that was a whole different ballgame, Shady and Deshaun and all these playmakers that they had, we go out there, Tremont Williams had a tremendous postseason that year.

• 38:02Ryan Clark?

  Underrated player.

• 38:03Speaker 03

  He sealed it over Riley...

• 38:05Ryan Clark?

  Cooper.

• 38:06Speaker 03

  Cooper, was it Cooper Riley Cooper?

• 38:08Ryan Clark?

  Riley Cooper.

• 38:09Speaker 03

  Yeah, yeah.

• 38:10Ryan Clark?

  Cooper Riley.

• 38:11Speaker 03

  In the corner, then we go down to Atlanta, who we had lost to earlier, they were the number 1 seed, 14-2, and that's when A-Rod went off that game, Tremont had a pick 6 right before halftime and at that point, it was at that point when I said, we all thought, like, we got a shot.

• 38:29Ryan Clark?

  Right.

• 38:30Speaker 03

  So then we go to Chicago, who we split the series with 1-1, take care of business out there, and then, you know, you're just 1 game away from winning the Super Bowl and you got 2 weeks to prepare, so why not? But yeah, as far as defensively, like, we had a good squad, you know, Nick, you know, if he hadn't hurt his neck, we're talking about possibly a Hall of Fame career.

• 38:51Ryan Clark?

  I agree.

• 38:52Speaker 03

  You know, Charles in the Hall of Fame, Tremont was young and coming up, Sam Shields, an undrafted free agent out of Miami, I believe, did his thing that postseason and defensive line, Cullen Jenkins.

• 39:02Ryan Clark?

  Grab people everywhere.

• 39:04Speaker 03

  Yeah, myself, Nick Barnett was, A.J. Hawk, like we had a good little squad, but I mean, that game was, it came down to, you know, even though we went down after that fumble that I caused, like it still was, y'all had one more drive to go down and win, so it was a great game.

• 39:18Ryan Clark?

  That was a great game, man.

• 39:25Speaker 00

  There's this.

• 39:28Speaker 00

  As you celebrate the game, take a deeper look at its roots. The people growing the grass, paving the lots, welding the goalposts, inspecting every football. The hardworking people that make every Sunday possible. Carhartt is proud to outfit the crews behind the game. Visit carhartt.com/jointhetrades to learn more.

• 39:50Speaker 03

  Joe Witt, who's the DB coach there, is my best friend.

• 39:52Ryan Clark?

  Okay.

• 39:53Speaker 03

  Right, so that Friday night, our families get together, we have a dinner, this whole thing. And I remember before the game, I came to your side of the field to hug him, you know, and wish him luck. And like, the DBs kinda like looked at me weird. Yeah, I saw, I was like, man, hold up, I can't get beat up before the Super Bowl. You know what I mean? But it was one of those, it was one of those things, man, where when you play on a great defense and you recognize great defensive players on the other side, whether it's the play you made, the play Nick makes, you, you do have a reverence for the game of football. And so you enjoy it so much, just being a part of something like that.

• 40:30Ryan Clark?

  Yeah, man, so you just, hearing you talk about football, you're thinking about games that were 15 years ago. You're talking about the last play, we're supposed to protect the sideline, keeping, you love football.

• 40:40Speaker 03

  Yeah.

• 40:41Ryan Clark?

  And then now, we saw the upgrades on TMZ.

• 40:44Speaker 03

  Yeah.

• 40:44Ryan Clark?

  You put, you put rims on it for Robert, because you are a good-looking man, I give you your credit. But you, but you, you and Caesar's Sportsbook, y'all both, y'all both got your thing together.

• 40:54Speaker 03

  Yeah, yeah.

• 40:56Ryan Clark?

  You disappeared.

• 40:57Speaker 03

  Yeah.

• 40:58Ryan Clark?

  Like, when you retired, like, now you're about to start calling games.

• 41:01Speaker 03

  Yeah.

• 41:02Ryan Clark?

  But you disappeared for a decade. What have you been doing? Sitting up in Nashville, cutting, cutting grass and chopping wood?

• 41:08Speaker 03

  Really? Yeah, yeah, really. You know, hey, you know what's funny is I actually, when I moved out here to Nashville, I lived in Southern California and just raising a family. I moved out here, I actually bought land from Jay Cutler, of all people. I'm like, I don't think I, I don't think I did anything too dirty to him, so.

• 41:23Ryan Clark?

  I really wanted to play Jay Cutler in the Super Bowl.

• 41:25Speaker 03

  You would, well, we, who was it? Who was the, who came in for him? I forget his name.

• 41:31Ryan Clark?

  I can't even remember, but.

• 41:32Speaker 03

  Yeah, he might not have had a chance.

• 41:34Ryan Clark?

  Hey, we wanted him instead of Aaron Rodgers.

• 41:37Speaker 03

  But no, I just, I mean, for me, I think that comes back to, man, I just, you know, because we had so much success as a team and myself, you know, you're kinda thrust into the spotlight and that's not a negative thing by any means. That's what we all strive for, to, you know, have that exposure and have the success and, and, you know, do what, we do do what I did. But I was cool, like, when I walked away, just, just being anonymous. Like, it was, it was nice for the first time in a long time. Like, you don't have cameras in your face and you don't have these obligations other than to your family and to what you wanna do. So, this Netflix deal that I got coming up, flying down to Australia to call the game with Nick Foles and L Duncan and Michael Irvin, that just kinda fell into my lap.

• 42:20Speaker 03

  Because they, you know, I've never really wanted to call an 18-game season. I mean, Ron, you know that, I mean, you're probably always on the road and you got call times, this and that. But with them just having a small set of games this year, I go, yeah, it's a way to keep me involved with the game. It's a way to just stay involved, give me something to do and just get out of the house a little bit. But, yeah, I'm cool with just being that guy. Like I said, I'm at peace with my career. Hopefully, you don't see me acting like a fool and trying to stay relevant. And at the same time, which is a very real thing, is, is, you know, suffering as we see, you know, unfortunately, especially as of lately, like, you lose the roar of the crowd. But for me, like, that was my life.

• 43:04Speaker 03

  Like, that was growing up, grandfather, father, uncle. So for me, I'm like, it's kinda nice when you're, when you're on the other side of it.

• 43:11Ryan Clark?

  But aren't you raising another little Matthews dog coming up?

• 43:13Speaker 03

  I got a few, I got, I got two boys, yeah, yeah. I'm, I'm heavily involved in flag football right now, is what I'll say. But I tell you what, we had, we had chatted about this, like, right before we started filming. And my youngest started playing flag and like junior kindergarten, they're like, you know, maybe five years old. But someone on the team has scored a touchdown to win the game. And I felt that feeling in my stomach that I had not felt since I left the game. And I understood why guys like us, who cannot do it physically anymore, get back into coaching. Because they just wanna pass on this knowledge, they wanna give back and they wanna see these kids progress. So for me, I've just kinda dove right in there. I'm in seven-on-seven, I got the $200 a year play generator.

• 43:57Speaker 03

  Hey, 3-0 so far this year, we're coming for it, the play generator, I love it.

• 44:03Fred Taylor?

  Super dope. Speaking of acting, Channing says one of your old teammates is horrible at acting.

• 44:08Ryan Clark?

  Who? Devante, in those Taco Bell commercials? Come on, man, he's reading a card the whole time.

• 44:16Speaker 03

  Yeah, yeah. Whereas, you know, he's like, you gotta, you gotta, you can't just show up on set and you gotta, you gotta be comfortable with the lines, you gotta read. I'll tell you what, I said, I did a promo when Dwayne Johnson, The Rock, was shooting Ballers out in LA. They gave him a script like this long, he was, he was a professional. First off, you mentioned, good-looking dude, tall, jacked.

• 44:38Ryan Clark?

  Yeah.

• 44:39Speaker 03

  He's got a lady holding his coat and a fan on him and he's so courteous to everybody. You know, you just kinda take these mental notes, but he reads the script like this long.

• 44:48Speaker 03

  Puts it down and then he just completely dominated this take. And I was like, man, this guy is special at what he does. So, I mean, I'm, I'm comparing Dwayne Johnson to Devante Adams. Obviously, Dwayne can't run routes like Devante, but.

• 45:02Ryan Clark?

  We all have our skills.

• 45:03Speaker 03

  But yeah, man, listen, Taco Bell demographic, they're probably not judging the acting. They just want, at 2:00 a.m. when they're drunk, they want something to eat, you know?

• 45:11Fred Taylor?

  I just mentioned Devante to try to tee up the one moment. Because I wanted to ask you, how does it feel to see someone as good as he is be so impressionable when, when he walks in the locker room and finally meets Clay Matthews and asks how long you've been playing?

• 45:28Speaker 03

  Yeah.

• 45:28Fred Taylor?

  And you tell him.

• 45:30Speaker 03

  Well, I just, I let him know I've been playing as long as how many Pro Bowls I had at the time. I think it was, I think it was like six, I got six Pro Bowls in six years, back when Pro Bowls mattered. And, and, you know, they were voted on without the fan vote and whatnot. But, no, Devante's awesome, I love the relationship I have with him. I even shot him a text when he went out to LA and I was like, hey, man, you'll absolutely love it. Especially, I think he was coming from the Jets at that time, saying, hey, watch out for this guy, you'll like this. But he's, he's been phenomenal. But he came in and, and it kinda, it paints me in a light that's like, all right, you know, you were feeling yourself. And maybe I was, I mean, we all felt ourselves at certain times. But Devante, when he came in, and you see this with a lot of young, especially skill position players,

• 46:13Speaker 03

  they want the fame, the, you know, the notoriety without putting in the work. And he was a stud from the get-go, but he had a few seasons where he was like, just shy. And I, it was like 997, like, two years where, you know, you look at somebody like Mike Evans' career, who, you know, 1,000 yards is that barometer, much like a pass rusher is 10 sacks is a Pro Bowl to 100 sacks is a Hall of Fame nod. So for me, you know, I just wanted him to take that next step and he absolutely did that. So maybe I can, maybe I was a part of that, maybe I sparked that by being a smart ass to him.

• 46:45Fred Taylor?

  That's how I see it, that's how I see it, I love it. I have no issue with it whatsoever, so I think you lit a fire under him.

• 46:52Speaker 03

  Well, he still, I mean, 14 touchdowns last year, led the league, you know, right on the goal line, like, he's gonna get his.

• 46:59Ryan Clark?

  We had got a chance to sit with him twice and the first time we sat with him, he went through this whole thing about a Terminator mask and I'm going through all these different scenarios of what might happen. And I thought it was just cool to hear, because we always think of, or people often think of football players as these brutes, right? And this athleticism, kinda you talked about genetics. But when you get to the NFL stage, a lot of those people have the same thing. So it's what you have neck up and what you have here that kinda sets people apart, which you did as well. I wanna ask about the, the parenting piece of it, though, and the coaching piece. Listen, your pops made you earn it.

• 47:36Speaker 03

  Yeah.

• 47:36Ryan Clark?

  Right? So, so the boys, when it come to getting playing time, they gotta go out and earn it, right?

• 47:40Speaker 03

  They gotta earn it. Right now, like, you know, they're, they're, they're rolling, they're doing their thing. Like, it's, I actually got in trouble last year, junior, you know, it was kindergarten, but it was only five-on-five. I carried 13 guys on the team, 13 kids on the team. I knew better, but I wanted to be inclusive of everybody. So we were rolling through all the teams, but there was one team, you know, that was a tough, like, we won the first game, lost halfway through the season, saw them again in the championship game. And there was four kids on my team who didn't play because we went to win. You know, we went to go get it. And I'm like, that, but that's fundamentally who, what I believe in, what got me to where I'm at. Like, we compete, we go after it. It doesn't matter your age, like, it's, you know.

• 48:23Speaker 03

  And I'm not saying those who play for fun are doing it wrong or competitively. I'm just saying, this is how I'm gonna run the team. And I felt bad, I, we lost the game by a point. But I, I wrote an email to the parents that night of the kids who didn't play and I said, listen, I'm, I'm sorry this happened, you know, and this was your experience, I had a wonderful time coaching your kids. And, and it was only one game, I think there was another, I think I'm busting with the boys. They had put me out there and said, like, I only play, you know, whatever it is. I'm like, let's chill, like, I'm a good guy after all. But ultimately, they, we just went our separate ways and, and now I got a team full of kids that's, you know, we go and get it and we compete. And practice is, even though it's first grade, you could say, hey, that might be too young. Like, we, we get after and we hold them accountable.

• 49:05Speaker 03

  And, and I think the parents love that, especially in today's day and age where it's, you know, participation trophy. I know, I mean, y'all, a lot of laughs going around this room, but I feel passionate.

• 49:16Ryan Clark?

  No, Clay, honestly, though, I'm the exact same way. You know, I, my son's with the Jets now and when I retired, I said, I'm gonna be a part of this the entire way. And there were mornings, we'd be in there training at 6:00 a.m. and he'd cry and he'd be frustrated with me. And I'd tell him, I'd be like, man, college is paid for. I was like, if you don't want what you told me you want, you get to quit. I said, but you gotta tell me that. I said, because what you told me was, this is what you wanted. And what I'm telling you is, I'm gonna do everything to help you get it. And if that ever changes, we can have a great relationship. I'll come to the game like every other dad and eat nachos. So I was like, but until then, this is how we're gonna approach it. And I think people like us, who love the game so much, can only see it that way.

• 50:00Ryan Clark?

  So I don't, I don't believe you're wrong, you just gotta be upfront with some parents, though.

• 50:03Speaker 03

  You're right, and that's, that's where I got myself in trouble a little bit. But now that I'm, you know, on the, on the front of it, talking, like, hey, this is how we're gonna do it and, and everybody's on board. And I, and most of the parents, like, I love the texts I get where like, hey, I love X, Y, and Z. It just feels fulfilling, not that you're looking for that, you know, pat on the back, but just being like, cool.

• 50:21Ryan Clark?

  But Clay, it sounds crazy saying, compete and hold them accountable, when they want an applesauce pouch and they wanna go watch Minions.

• 50:31Speaker 03

  Hey, Minions was a good movie though. Minions and Monsters that they just had come out, but nah, like I get it. I get it. It's just, it's who I am. It's in my DNA. And at any age and throughout life, we're gonna compete. We're gonna go get it. We're gonna be unapologetic, but we're gonna be respectful. We're gonna shake hands. It's just, the thing is, when you say that in today's society, everybody thinks you're cutthroat and you're too mean and you're this and that. And I'm like, man, I'm just doing the same way. I'm just holding my kids accountable, the same way my dad did me and his before him. And how he told me, you gotta finish out the season and he didn't let me quit. Like, oh yeah, it's tough. All right, go ahead, quit. Like, then I quit everything in life. So, I don't know. I'm just like, I get it. There's a lot of noise here, but there's also a lot of, you know, people in my corner.

• 51:16Ryan Clark?

  That's also though, part of who we become in life is what we learn in sport. And the level of accountability that you're holding these kids to, they may not put them in college to play football, but it's gonna teach them how to raise families. It's gonna teach them how to be parents. And I think the fathers and mothers who are sitting on the side, sending you those text messages that we love it, they understand that part of it too. Like, this is a part of the maturity of a human, not necessarily a player.

• 51:43Fred Taylor?

  Yeah, and you're saying all the perfect things. Like, it's absolutely perfect. And you're the perfect person to ask this question. If your kid running for a touchdown and a parent comes off the sideline and trips your kid, any one of your players, what was going down? You're standing in it?

• 52:02Speaker 03

  Like, I usually, like, I don't fly off the, you know, I don't fly off the handle, but I might have to snatch him up, you know? And just like, because, you know, we got too much to lose to be...

• 52:15Ryan Clark?

  We had that conversation, yeah.

• 52:16Speaker 03

  You got too much to lose, but at a minimum, maybe you can just subdue. Or, you know? Hold them accountable. Hold them accountable. My first graders and my parents, hold them accountable, yeah.

• 52:28Fred Taylor?

  Clay, we always ask our guests this. The biggest pivot, your biggest pivot in life, that's the one moment you can look back on, or moments, you can look back on and say, because this happened to me or for me, I am who I am today?

• 52:40Speaker 03

  Man, I think I alluded to it early, but I think it's my college career. I think by not going to a junior college or a one double A and, not to say that was the easy route, but that would have been appropriate. But by throwing myself into the fire and putting myself out there, I think that battle hardened me and got me ready for the success in which I had in the NFL and allowed me to have the success outside of NFL as well, you know, with marriage, raising a family. You talked about just sport in general, as I think the greatest teacher in life with so many valuable lessons. So, that's gotta be my greatest pivot is choosing to be a walk-on at the number one program in the country at the time.

• 53:23Ryan Clark?

  Yeah, you know, there're gonna be people that watch this show and be like, yeah, we can walk on at these power four schools. No, it's not that easy.

• 53:31Speaker 03

  J.J. Watt, Clay, Baker Mayfield, we could do it too.

• 53:34Ryan Clark?

  We could do it too. Nah, it is difficult and it takes an ability to persevere through adversity when you don't feel like people actually care about you, because there's gonna be those times. So, what you've been able to accomplish, man, I do think it's a testament to how you were raised, but also the intestinal fortitude that you have. I know you said you like obscurity. I can't see you being very obscure after you get your first opportunity on TV, man. This was engaging, right? The recall, the ability to connect, communicate, man. It was such a great time, man. And I loved it, even though I didn't wanna love you, you know, when you walked in, man. So, best of luck. Stay maxed out. You know what I mean? Bring those calves back, you know, if you can, for the Caesar Sportsbook app, man.

• 54:18Ryan Clark?

  But we really appreciate you, man. We appreciate your time.

• 54:21Speaker 03

  Likewise. Thanks, man.

• 54:22Ryan Clark?

  That was great. Do you remember how the game started?

• 54:25Speaker 03

  That 2009?

• 54:26Ryan Clark?

  Mike Wallace went deep on like the first drive.

• 54:28Speaker 03

  Did he?

• 54:29Ryan Clark?

  Yeah, I think it was Will Blackman, maybe?

• 54:31Speaker 03

  Uh, yes, yeah. Well, did he go against him? But I remember like, yeah, Mike, Mike was like a seventh round pick or something like that, but...

• 54:38Ryan Clark?

  No, Mike was a mid-round pick, but remember, he ran like four or two.

• 54:41Speaker 03

  That's what it was.

• 54:42Ryan Clark?

  He couldn't track the ball though, like in college. And so, he kind of went mid-rounds, but that was the year he exploded. He had like...

• 54:50Speaker 03

  Yeah.

• 54:50Ryan Clark?

  And so, I remember like, cause I wanna say he was, he might've been my draft year, 2009. Maybe I'm wrong. Maybe I'm mixing up receivers.

• 54:57Speaker 03

  It might've been like his second, third year.

• 54:58Ryan Clark?

  But, um, so, yeah, so A.B. was the later round draft pick that became, yeah, A.B. became the guy, but Mike Wallace was super fast, bro. And so, like, that game, that game too, Jermichael Finley like catches...

• 55:10Speaker 03

  Oh, he went off.

• 55:11Ryan Clark?

  Yeah, he went off.

• 55:12Speaker 03

  He was like pressed outside, I'm like, I'm tracking the ball.

• 55:15Ryan Clark?

  Oh, that was on you?

• 55:15Speaker 03

  Yeah, I'm tracking the ball, dog. I was like, ah!

• 55:18Ryan Clark?

  Yeah, he went off that game.

• 55:20Speaker 03

  That was...

• 55:20Ryan Clark?

  But that was a game...

• 55:21Speaker 03

  That was fun.

• 55:22Ryan Clark?

  We both set back defenses 50 years that day.

• 55:25Speaker 03

  What was the score, like, it was 50, 44, something like that?

• 55:28Ryan Clark?

  It was way too much.

• 55:29Speaker 03

  Yeah, we were terrible. But it was crazy, it's like, I don't know what was happening on the back end, cause I was getting after Ben. Like, y'all had Max Starks, is that who it is? Like, all I had to do, ah, just bend under him like three times. Yeah, exactly. Back when I could bend.

• 55:42Ryan Clark?

  Yeah.

• 55:44Speaker 03

  That was a fun game. And man, I know you probably hear this all the time, when that fourth quarter came around and they play, uh, it wasn't...

• 55:50Ryan Clark?

  Renegade.

• 55:51Speaker 03

  Yeah, brother. I was like, man, it was so... I remember sitting there like, just as a fan of sport and a ball, I'm like, it's dope right here. Cause you know, in Green Bay, it's like Jock Jams, Aaron Smith, roll out the barrel, but with that, I'm like, that's a huge environment.

• 56:07Ryan Clark?

  Man, I remember one year, cause they might've been that year, cause T.P. was hurt a lot that year in Troy, you know what I mean? They would play and I'd be like, man, cut that joint off. Man, every time y'all play that hole, somebody score.

• 56:16Speaker 03

  That was 09, just play recall. He got hurt, you guys opened up against the Titans that year. That's when he had that single, that one arm pick, but he got hurt that game.

• 56:25Ryan Clark?

  Yeah, he got hurt and it kinda changed the, it changed everything we kinda did, obviously, cause he did things special.