New England Patriots
Slater will try to help BC High turn things around after a 4-7 season.
Matthew Slater AP Photo/Steven Senne
-
Drake Maye runs through scouting report of Patriots’ crowded receiver room
-
4 takeaways from Craig Breslow’s Red Sox trade-deadline press conference
Longtime Patriots special teams ace Matthew Slater has joined the football coaching staff at BC High, the school announced Tuesday.
Slater, 40, played 16 seasons with the Patriots and his contributions on special teams helped him earn ten Pro Bowl appearances. He also spent many years as a team captain for the Patriots.
Now, he’ll help coach and mentor high schoolers. Slater’s title is Assistant Head Coach for Leadership and Player Development.
“It is a privilege to work alongside a school so deeply committed to developing young men of character,” Slater said in the school’s press release. “Football is one of the greatest classrooms for teaching life’s most important lessons.”
“It provides opportunities to develop leadership, discipline, resilience, humility, and a heart for serving others—qualities that extend far beyond the football field.”
Slater’s career exemplified how finding a niche and excelling at it can change a young player’s fortunes. A fifth-round pick out of UCLA, Slater was once worried about being cut from the Patriots. He was drafted as a wide receiver, but only wound up making one career catch — a 46 yarder in 2011.
But, he found his place on special teams and became one of the greatest gunners the sport has ever seen. Bill Belichick has said, on multiple occasions, that he believes Slater is the greatest special teams player ever.
Slater retired from the NFL after the 2023 season and spent the 2024 season on Jerod Mayo’s Patriots staff as a special assistant to the head coach.
Slater is the son of a Pro Football Hall of Famer. His father, Jackie Slater, made seven Pro Bowls with the Rams as an offensive tackle and had his jersey retired by the franchise.
The younger Slater won three Super Bowls with the Patriots and will attempt to help BC High turn their program around. The Eagles finished 4-7 last season. BC High has three state championships, with the most recent in 2011.
Khari A. Thompson
Khari Thompson covers professional sports for Boston.com. Before joining the team in 2022, Khari covered college football for The Clarion Ledger in Jackson, Miss.
Get the latest Boston sports news
Receive updates on your favorite Boston teams, straight from our newsroom to your inbox.
