Matt House Position: Secondary

Matt House, who spent the past four seasons in the National Football League as an assistant with the St. Louis Rams and Carolina Panthers, enters his first season at Pitt as secondary coach.

House served as a defensive quality control coach with the St. Louis Rams the past three seasons (2009-11). In 2008, he was a special teams assistant with the Carolina Panthers, who went 12-4 that year en route to the NFC South Division title and the fourth-ever playoff berth in franchise history. In addition to contributing to special teams, House also served the Panthers as a strength and conditioning assistant.

Prior to his NFL stint, House was defensive backs coach and recruiting coordinator under Turner Gill at the University of Buffalo for two seasons (2006-07). In his final season at UB, the rising Bulls captured a share of the MAC East Division title. House's pupils at Buffalo included four-time first-team All-MAC safety Davonte Shannon, a native of Jeannette, Pa., and graduate of Jeannette High. Shannon finished as the Bulls' all-time leading tackler and signed a free agent contract with the Washington Redskins.

House additionally was defensive line coach at Gardner-Webb University (2005), where he helped develop consensus All-America defensive end Brian Johnston. The two-time Big South Conference Defensive Player of the Year would go on to be selected by the Kansas City Chiefs in the 2008 NFL Draft.

House began his coaching career as a graduate assistant at Michigan State (his alma mater) during the 2001 and '02 seasons and worked with the Spartans' defensive backs and special teams. The 2002 Spartans earned an invitation to the Silicon Valley Bowl. He also was a defensive assistant at North Carolina for two years (2003-04) working with the secondary.

House and his wife Jessi have two sons, Jackson and Jacob, and a daughter, Avery.

PERSONAL INFORMATION

Birthdate: May 17, 1978

Hometown: Harrison, Mich.

Alma Mater: Michigan State, 2000

Family: House and his wife Jessi have two sons, Jackson and Jacob.

COACHING EXPERIENCE

Professional

St. Louis Rams, 2009-11, quality control/defense.

Carolina Panthers, 2008, special teams assistant & strength and conditioning assistant.

College

University of Buffalo, 2006-07, defensive backs & recruiting coordinator.

Gardner-Webb, 2005, defensive line.

North Carolina, 2003-04, defensive assistant.

Michigan State, 2001-02, graduate assistant/secondary.

BOWL GAMES AS A COACH

2002 Silicon Valley Bowl