January 2021 saw the addition of Eric Mateos to the Baylor Football staff. He coaches the offensive line.
Mateos was included in the exclusive Dave Campbell Texas Football 40 under 40 list, which recognizes the best assistant coaches in the state of Texas under the age of 40.
In 2022, Mateos persisted in leading one of the best offensive line groups in the country, assembling a stellar core of veterans that comprised Mose Jeffrey, Connor Galvin, Jacob Gall, Grant Miller, Khalil Keith, Gavin Byers, and Jacob Gall. The offensive line unit set the stage for a rushing offense that finished with 2,371 total rushing yards, including 34 rushing touchdowns, good for eighth most in program history, and 182.4 yards per game. In addition, the Bears’ 5,380 total offensive yards ranked as the 10th-highest in school history. Phil Steele named Gall and Galvin honorable mention All-America, and Dave Campbell’s Texas Football named Gall the best offensive lineman in the state. Miller was named to the Pro Football Network’s first team all-conference.
The Bears O-Line, in his first season as head coach, set the stage for the greatest rushing assault in the Big 12, averaging 219.3 yards per game, which ranked 10th in the nation. Along with being one of the greatest offensive lines in the nation, the team finished as a Joe Moore Award semifinalist by allowing the second-fewest sacks per game in the conference.
Under Mateos’ direction, offensive lineman Connor Galvin was named to the Big 12 First Team, All-America First Team (The Athletic), and All-America Third Team (AP) as well as the title of Offensive Lineman of the Year. Additionally, center Jacob Gall was selected to the All-Big 12 Honorable Mention Team (Coaches), All-America Second Team (FWAA), and All-Big 12 Second Team (AP). The third player on the offensive line to be named an All-Big 12 Honorable Mention selection after the season was Xavier Newman-Johnson.
Mateos, a native of Overland Park, Kansas, attended BYU for two productive seasons from 2019 to 20 before joining Baylor. He developed a BYU offensive line in Provo that served as the foundation for one of the best offenses in the nation in 2020. In ten distinct statistical categories, including scoring (3rd, 43.5 ppg), overall offense (7th, 522.2 ypg), and passing offense (8th, 332.1 ppg), BYU concluded the season rated in the top-15.
The BYU offensive line, led by Consensus All-American lineman Brady Christensen, allowed just 12 sacks in 12 games, the eighth-best average per game in the nation, and the Cougars scored 34 rushing touchdowns, which tied for fourth most in the nation.
In total, Christensen was awarded eight All-America titles. With a 96.0 rating at the end of the 2020 season, he was Pro Football Focus’ highest-graded offensive lineman in the nation, receiving ratings above 95.0 in both the pass- and run-blocking departments. In 372 pass-blocking snaps during the regular season, he gave up just three pressures.
2020 saw BYU enjoy an 11-1 year, highlighted by a thrilling 49-23 triumph over UCF in the Boca Raton Bowl. During the season, the Cougars were ranked as high as eighth in the AP poll. With 45 plays of 30 yards or more, BYU led all FBS teams in this category and tied for the national lead in yards per play (7.84). In a total of twelve games, the program scored forty points or more nine times.
Mateos has mentored 13 NFL players, including eight draft picks, since 2014. Most recently, the Carolina Panthers selected Christensen in the third round of the 2021 NFL Draft.
The Cougars had a 7-6 record and qualified for the Hawaii Bowl in 2019. Phil Steele named Christensen and center James Empey All-Independent players under Mateo’s tutelage. In their last five games of the regular season, BYU’s offense ranked eighth in the country (520.6 yards per game), thirteenth in the country (323.0 yards per game) and thirty-fourth in the country (197.6 yards per game) in terms of passing offense. In the Hawai’i Bowl, the Cougars finished the season with 505 yards of total offense, 274 of which came from the air and 231 from the ground.
By the end of the 2019 season, Mateos’ offensive line was ranked No. 12 overall by Pro Football Focus.
From 2017 to 2018, Mateos was Texas State’s offensive line coach for two seasons, during which he produced an All-Sun Belt player each year. Mateos was the tight ends coach at LSU in 2016 before joining the Bobcats. He began the season as a graduate assistant on the offensive line for Baylor under offensive coordinator Jeff Grimes.
Mateos was appointed tight ends coach by Ed Orgeron halfway through the 2016 campaign, and he assisted in leading the Tigers to a Citrus Bowl victory over Louisville. Mateos served under Sam Pittman at Arkansas from 2013 to 2015 before joining Grimes at LSU.
Before spending a year in 2012 as the offensive line coach and recruiting coordinator at Hutchinson Community College, he started his coaching career in 2011 as an assistant offensive line coach at Southwest Baptist.
Mateos started for two years at Southwest Baptist, where he was the team captain in 2009 and 2010. In 2011, he graduated from Southwest Baptist with a bachelor’s degree in public relations, and in 2015, he obtained a master’s degree from Arkansas. Mateos is wed to the ex-Gillian Chavez, and together they have a daughter named Izzy.
