Background and career
Matthew Rutledge Schaub (SHOB; born June 25, 1981) is an American professional football coach and former quarterback who is the quarterbacks coach for the Arizona Cardinals of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Virginia Cavaliers and was selected by the Atlanta Falcons in the third round of the 2004 NFL draft. After spending his first three professional seasons with the Atlanta Falcons as a backup, Schaub was traded to the Houston Texans in 2007, where he spent the next seven seasons as a starter and was selected to two Pro Bowls. He then had stints as a backup with the Oakland Raiders and Baltimore Ravens in 2014 and 2015, respectively. He then returned to the Falcons in 2016, where he remained a backup for his final five seasons in the NFL. Schaub began his NFL coaching career in 2023 an analyst for the Atlanta Falcons and was hired by the Cardinals as their quarterbacks coach in 2026.
Schaub attended West Chester East High School in West Chester, Pennsylvania, where he lettered in football, basketball, and baseball.
Schaub enrolled at the University of Virginia in the fall of 1999, and began his career as a member of the Virginia Cavaliers football team. He redshirted his true freshman season. In 2000, starter Dan Ellis missed some time due to an injury, but fellow redshirt freshman Bryson Spinner received the bulk of playing time in relief. After the 2000 season, coach George Welsh retired and was replaced by Al Groh. Schaub was the starter for the first game of the 2001 season at the Wisconsin Badgers. Over the 2001 season, Schaub and Spinner split quarterbacking duties nearly evenly. The two alternated in some games, while in others either Schaub or Spinner received nearly all the snaps. The two quarterback system worked relatively well with both effectively passing the ball to receiver Billy McMullen, the team's leading offensive threat. Schaub finished the season with 1,524 passing yards, 10 touchdowns, and eight interceptions. Spinner transferred to the University of Richmond for the 2002 season, seemingly making Schaub the unquestioned starter. However, Schaub was briefly replaced by redshirt freshman Marques Hagans in the first game of the 2002 season against the Colorado State Rams. Hagans was named the starter for the next game, against the Florida State Seminoles, but was replaced by Schaub who went on to his breakout season. He finished the season with 2,976 passing yards, 28 touchdowns, and seven interceptions. Schaub was the 2002 ACC Player of the Year, 2002 ACC Offensive Player of the Year and first-team All-State Virginia Sports Information Directors Association (VaSID) as a senior. Publicized in the 2003 preseason as a Heisman Trophy candidate, Schaub suffered a shoulder injury in the first game of the season and did not return for several games; therefore his overall numbers declined in his senior season. He finished the season with 2,952 passing yards, 18 touchdowns, and 10 interceptions. He was the Most Valuable Player of the 2003 Continental Tire Bowl and was twice selected to the All-ACC Academic Football Team. His University of Virginia awards included the John Acree Memorial Trophy, given to the football player with the highest qualities of leadership and unselfish service, and the Ben Wilson Award as the team's most outstanding offensive player. Schaub finished his college career with at least 22 school records. He played in a record 40 games at the quarterback position and finished his career as one of the most accurate passers in Atlantic Coast Conference history (.670 career completion percentage). His Virginia statistics included school career records for yards passing (7,502), touchdown passes (56), completions (716), attempts (1,069), completion percentage (.670), 300-yard games (8), and 200-yard games (20).
Schaub was selected by the Atlanta Falcons in the third round of the 2004 NFL draft as the 90th overall pick. He was the fifth of seventeen quarterbacks taken in a quarterback-rich class, including Eli Manning, Philip Rivers, and Ben Roethlisberger.
In 2004, Schaub played in six games with the Atlanta Falcons, including starting the Week 16 contest against the New Orleans Saints, replacing the injured Michael Vick.
In 2005, Schaub was named the Most Valuable Player in the American Bowl preseason game in Tokyo, Japan. In front of 45,203 fans at the Tokyo Dome, Schaub completed 11 of 13 passes for 117 yards and two touchdowns in a 27–21 comeback victory over the Indianapolis Colts. During the regular season, he played quarterback in five games, starting one. His lone start came against the New England Patriots in Week 5; Schaub threw for 298 yards and three touchdowns in the 31–28 loss. Schaub was the holder on extra points and field goals.
