News

From the Hallways of Charles Wright to the Super Bowl

 

When Corey Matthaei ‘03 walks onto an NFL field, he carries with him the lessons of a childhood spent in Tacoma, Washington – a tight-knit community, a demanding academic environment, and a work ethic that was quietly forged long before he ever set foot in an NFL facility. As the Assistant Offensive Line Coach for the Kansas City Chiefs, Corey’s journey from the halls of Charles Wright Academy to one of the most celebrated franchises in professional football is a story about seizing opportunity, putting in the work, and never underestimating the power of the people around you.

 

A Charles Wright Kid Through and Through

Corey is, in every sense of the word, a Charles Wright kid. His father attended the school before him, and both of his older brothers walked the same halls. By the time Corey arrived in middle school, Charles Wright wasn’t just a school – it was a family tradition. Looking back, Corey credits much of his foundational development to the unique environment that a smaller school like Charles Wright provides. With a graduating class of roughly 68 students, the experience was intimate in a way that larger public schools simply can’t replicate. 

 

“I could have gone through my yearbook and named everybody in my graduating class, and probably most people in the whole school,” Corey recalled. “You know everybody, you see everybody on a daily basis.”

 

That closeness extends far beyond his friend group. Corey speaks with genuine warmth about the teachers and coaches who shaped him during those years – Charles Wright greats like David Adams, Tyler Francis, Bob Beeman, Heidi Huckens, and Casey Jones, a sixth-grade teacher who once flew Corey and his father to a remote cabin in Canada in his personal float plane for a fly fishing weekend. It’s the kind of story that sounds almost too cinematic to be true, but at Charles Wright, it simply speaks to the depth of connection that defines our community. 

 

“I don’t know how many people have relationships or would have kept in touch with a high school teacher,” Corey said. “But that’s for sure a unique opportunity there.”

 

Playing Hard, Working Harder

On the athletic fields of Charles Wright, Corey found something that would stay with him for the rest of his life: an identity built around effort. He played both football and baseball, and while he’ll be the first to admit he wasn’t the biggest or the most naturally gifted player, he made up for it in ways that couldn’t be measured on a stat sheet.

 

“I don’t consider myself a particularly skilled person,” he said. “My greatest strength is that I’m willing to work. I didn’t think I was the greatest athlete. But I put time in, and I worked at it.” 

 

A smaller school like Charles Wright gave him the space to compete in ways he might not have had access to at a larger institution, and he took full advantage of every opportunity, including early morning baseball workouts with Coach Jim Polander on Saturday mornings. 

 

“If someone gives you an opportunity to help you get better, you take it,” he said. “He was giving up time on a Saturday to work with a group of high school kids. I’m going to be there to get better.” 

 

Beyond sports, Corey also dabbled in playing the saxophone throughout high school, and participated enthusiastically in Charles Wright’s experiential education program – including the iconic Middle School Beach Hike and Upper School Winterim trips to destinations like the San Juan Islands and Havasu Canyon. Those experiences, he says, instilled in him a love of the outdoors that he now passes on to his own children. 

 

The Road to the NFL

After graduating from Charles Wright, Corey attended Willamette University in Salem, Oregon – another smaller school that offered him the chance to continue playing football at the Division III level. It was there that he met his wife, Cari, earned a degree in exercise science, and began to clarify his vision for the future. Following graduation, he spent a season coaching at Willamette while also working as an aide in a special needs classroom at a local middle school – an experience he describes as profoundly moving. Working primarily with students on the autism spectrum in a life skills setting, Corey found himself unexpectedly drawn to the work. 

 

“As soon as they see an older male, a lot of those boys will gravitate towards you,” he said. “That sold me. I was like, this is what I’m going to do.”

 

He had already committed himself to pursuing a master’s degree in teaching when the phone rang just before Christmas. It was Andy Reid, then the Head Coach of the Philadelphia Eagles, calling with an opportunity to join the organization full-time as a Coaching Assistant. The decision was, by Corey’s own admission, not a difficult one professionally – but emotionally, it was wrenching. 

 

“The last thing these kids needed was one more person to enter their lives for a few months and then leave,” he said. “I felt sick about it. But I knew I needed to take this opportunity.” 

 

Kansas City and Championships

Corey spent five years with the Eagles before following Coach Reid to Kansas City in 2012. What followed has been, by any measure, a remarkable run. 

 

“We got here, we started on the right foot,” Corey said with characteristic understatement. 

 

That’s one way to put it. Since arriving in Kansas City, Corey has been part of an organization that has built one of the most dominant dynasties in modern NFL history, anchored by quarterback Patrick Mahomes – a player Corey describes simply as “as good as there is.” Now entering his 14th year with the Chiefs, Corey serves as an Assistant Offensive Line Coach, a position that demands extraordinary dedication. During the season, his days routinely run from 6 a.m. to midnight, Monday through Thursday, with weekends consumed by travel, game preparation, and competition. He doesn’t see his family most weeknights from training camp in July through potentially February. 

 

“I might as well be gone,” he admitted. “It’s all work.” 

 

But Corey is quick to add that the sacrifices come with rare rewards. “To be around people who, in the real world, are icons – Patrick Mahomes, Travis Kelce – these are coworkers,” he said. “People would pay money to do the stuff I get to do. It’s a fantasy.” 

 

The Person Behind the Coach

Away from football, Corey is a devoted father of three and leans heavily into family life during the offseason. Road trips to national parks, school musicals, baseball practices, and, more recently, training for triathlons fill the months when the NFL calendar gets quieter. 

 

And behind everything, he is quick to note, stands his wife Cari. 

 

“She might as well be a single mom for six months out of the year, and she makes everything happen,” he said. “I couldn’t have done any of this without her.” 

 

Advice for the Next Generation

When asked what he would say to current Charles Wright students, Corey doesn’t hesitate. His message is simple, consistent, and earned through decades of experience. 

 

“There is no substitute for doing the work.” 

 

Charles Wright gave Corey a foundation. The rest, he’ll tell you, was just putting in the work.