Matt Land of Dalton is the winner of the Don Shula NFL High School Coach of the Year Award.
The award, named for the winningest coach in NFL history, was created to honor exemplary high school football coaches for character and integrity, leadership and dedication to the community, commitment to player health and safety and on-field success.
Over the years, Land and his family have provided a home to students in need. One was Yvenson Vignier, a senior defensive back on the 2019 team. Vignier lost his home in Haiti to an earthquake. The first student that the Land family assisted was Floyd Coffee, who became homeless in the wake of Hurricane Katrina. Coffee played at Eastern Kentucky and is now an Opportunity Scholars Adviser in TRIO Program at Southern Cal and is taking classes in the Ph.D. program.
Also, Land has placed more than 30 players in college. That list will include 2019 Class AAAAAA offensive player of the year Jahmyr Gibbs, a Georgia Tech commit who rushed for more than 2,500 yards last season.
Nominees from all 32 NFL teams spent last week at the Pro Bowl in Orlando and attended events such as practices, the Play Football High School Skills Showdown and the Pro Bowl game.
The committee that makes the coach-of-the-year selection includes Shula, Pro Football Hall of Fame president David Baker, former Dallas Cowboys player personnel director Gil Brandt and Hall of Fame coach Tony Dungy, among others.
‘’Just to be mentioned in the phrase Don Shula is an honor in itself,” Land said. “I think just the recognition of what the award stands for - it stands for integrity, achievement and making a difference in your community. That's why I coach. I love wins. I love championships, but at the end of the day, I want to see kids’ lives changed. I thank God that this is the way that he lets me do it.”
Land, an alumnus of Dalton, played on Dalton teams that compiled a record of 34-4-1 during his three seasons under GACA hall of fame coach Bill Chappell in the late 1980s, when Land was a team captain. Land was a walk-on player at Auburn and a student assistant coach there.
Land soon joined Dalton’s staff and has remained in his hometown. He became head coach in 2010. Under Land, Dalton has won three region titles. More than 20 of Land’s players have played in college
Coach Land will receive $15,000 from the NFL Foundation, $10,000 of which will go to Dalton’s football program. He will attend Super Bowl LIV in Miami and walk the red carpet at NFL Honors, a two-hour awards special to air on FOX the night before Super Bowl LIV.
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