Don Matthews Don Matthews , a . k . a . " The Don " , ( born June 22 , 1939 , Amesbury , Massachusetts ) is a former head coach of several teams in the Canadian Football League . He won 231 games in the CFL , the second highest win total by a head coach in the league ' s history . He was inducted into the Canadian Football Hall of Fame in September 2011 . College . From a large family of limited means and education , Matthews quit high school in Amesbury after his senior season of football in 1956 and served three years in the U . S . Marine Corps . He returned home and earned his high school diploma and then on the advice of a teacher , ventured west in 1960 as a 21 - year - old freshman to Moscow , Idaho . He walked - on at Idaho as a linebacker on the freshman team ; he was awarded a scholarship by varsity head coach Skip Stahley after his first semester . He earned three letters and was a team captain in his senior season of 1963 , when the Vandals , in their second year under Dee Andros , achieved their first winning season in a quarter century . Matthews graduated from the University of Idaho with a degree in education in 1964 . Early career . Matthews was a graduate assistant for the Vandals in Moscow for the 1964 season under Andros and freshman coach Bud Riley . Matthews then coached high school football in Ely , Nevada for four years and won a state title . He relocated to Spokane , Washington in 1969 as head coach at Ferris , where he led the Saxons to the city title in his second and final year . Matthews became a collegiate assistant coach back at his alma mater in 1971 as offensive line coach ( later as offensive coordinator ) , under second - year head coach Don Robbins . After an 0 - 2 start , the Vandals finished at 8 - 3 in 1971 , which included an eight game winning streak , and won the Big Sky title . At the time it was the best record in school history , and three seniors were selected in the 1972 NFL Draft . Two years later , Robbins was fired following the 1973 season and Matthews moved to the Portland area . He took over a winless program at Sunset High School in Beaverton , Oregon , and won consecutive state championships in 1975 and 1976 , going undefeated in his third and final year . He left Sunset after the 1976 season to become a CFL assistant coach in Edmonton , Alberta . CFL coaching career . Matthews was formerly head coach of the CFL ' s BC Lions , Saskatchewan Roughriders , Baltimore Stallions , Toronto Argonauts , Edmonton Eskimos , and Montreal Alouettes . He was also head coach of the Orlando Thunder of the World League of American Football . In October 2006 , Matthews stepped down as head coach of the Alouettes expressing undisclosed health issues that were " affecting his ability to perform " . In May , 2008 , Matthews was announced as an advisor to the Jeff Hunt - led group ' s conditional Ottawa franchise . Don Matthews returned to Toronto on September 9 , 2008 as the interim coach for the Argonauts , after they started the season with a 4 – 6 record . In that press conference , Matthews revealed that the major health reason that caused him to step down as head coach of the Alouettes was an anxiety disorder . He also went further to say that he had been prescribed to some medication and the anxiety attacks are now under control . Matthews ' mother , Ida , was a francophone from Tracadie , New Brunswick , while his father , Fred , was from Prince Edward Island . Matthews has 3 sons and 6 grandchildren . In 2004 , Matthews became a Canadian citizen . On October 31 , 2008 , he resigned from the Argonauts a day after the conclusion of the Argonauts 2008 regular season , which saw the Argos fail to win a game in the eight games under his leadership and finishing out of the playoffs for the first time since the 2001 CFL season . Matthews resides in Oregon and was selected for induction in the Builder category into the Canadian Football Hall of Fame on February 10 , 2011 . On November 5 , 2012 , Matthews announced he was battling cancer and therefore would not be able to participate in any of the festivities for the 100th Grey Cup in Toronto . Coaching records . Don Matthews currently holds several coaching records : He also has an additional 5 Grey Cup titles as defensive co - ordinator of the Edmonton Eskimos .