Indiana Hoosiers head football coach Curt Cignetti famously told reporters, "Google me" when asked about whether he could actually turn the Hoosiers into a football powerhouse in the Big Ten. But if Houston Texans defensive coordinator Matt Burke offered the same bold retort, the impending Google search would almost just as likely bring up details about a country music singer or one of two Australian rugby stars of the same name.
This may change soon enough, and if the Houston Texans' season-long emergence as the best defense in the NFL doesn't do it, what potentially comes next for Houston's defensive coordinator could spark a spike in name recognition for the 49-year-old who has been in the NFL in some capacity since 2004.
According to NFL insider Dianna Russini, while Kansas City Chiefs offensive coordinator Matt Nagy is viewed as the favorite for the Tennessee Titans' head coaching opening, Burke is one of a handful of defensive assistants that the Titans hope to interview once the offseason arrives.
"Tennessee Titans general manager Mike Borgonzi and president of football operations Chad Brinker are leading the organization’s head coaching search, and I’m told their list is taking shape. Chiefs offensive coordinator Matt Nagy is viewed internally as a serious candidate," Russini writes. "Tennessee also plans to reach out to several defensive coordinators, including the Indianapolis Colts’ Lou Anarumo, the Green Bay Packers’ Jeff Hafley, the Jacksonville Jaguars’ Anthony Campanile, the Rams’ Chris Shula, the Houston Texans’ Matt Burke and the Chargers’ Jesse Minter."
There are two reasons why Matt Burke has flown under the radar, despite Houston being the top defense in the NFL by multiple statistical measures. First, with a defensive-minded head coach in DeMeco Ryans, there's the perception that it's Ryans, not Burke, who has done the bulk of the heavy lifting coaching this team up. While Ryans, a former standout linebacker and defensive coordinator in his own right, certainly has his fingerprints all over this unit, it's Burke who has been calling the plays since Week 4.
“Burke has called plays before [in the preseason]. We all collectively put the gameplan together. It worked well, and he did a good job of calling it," Ryans said after a 26-0 win over the Tennessee Titans back in September.
The second reason why Matt Burke hasn't yet emerged as the hot coaching candidate du jour could have to do with the fact that schematically, what the Texans do is pretty straight-forward. As I wrote back in November when I put Burke in the Defensive Spotlight here at Toro Times, "Houston isn't doing anything too funky. They don't blitz a ton, they aren't presenting looks that are overly exotic. But they are fundamentally sound, physical, and prideful."
However, there's something to be said of the fact that if you watch football each and every Sunday throughout the season, very few defenses are as locked in and disciplined on a week to week basis as the Texans have been.
The Titans are just one of a handful of teams that will have a head coaching opening this offseason, and every single one of those franchise's would be wise to give Matt Burke an extended look. They just better make sure that when they Google him and do their due diligence on him, they're not looking at a singer or an Aussie.