Matt Burke enters his first season with the Miami Dolphins after he was named linebackers coach on Jan. 12, 2016.
Burke spent the past seven years as an NFL linebackers coach, working with the position group in Cincinnati (2014-15) and Detroit (2009-13). He also spent five years with the Tennessee Titans, where he served as an administrative assistant (2004-05) and defensive assistant/quality control coach (2006-08).
In 2015, the Bengals had the second-best scoring defense (17.4 points per game) in the NFL. The defense forced 28 turnovers, tied for sixth in the league.
Linebacker Vincent Rey posted the two-most productive seasons of his career under Burke. In 2015, Rey made 95 stops (62 solo), one sack, one interception and five passes defensed. Thrust into a starting role due to injuries in 2014, Rey totaled a team-high 121 tackles (61 solo) and five passes defensed that season.
The Bengals missed middle linebacker Rey Maualuga during the first half of the 2014 season, but once he returned during the final seven games of the season, Cincinnati surrendered just 82.0 rushing yards per contest, the second-best mark in the NFL.
Burke came to Cincinnati from the Lions, where he spent five seasons as the linebackers coach. In 2013, he helped lead a Lions defense that ranked No. 6 in the NFL against the run. Linebacker DeAndre Levy was tied for second in the NFL in interceptions (6), becoming only the third linebacker in Lions history with six-plus interceptions and the first since 1958. The Lions held opponents to 30.3 percent on third downs, the lowest conversion rate in the league, and were second in red-zone touchdown percentage (38.1) in 2013. The defense went 37-straight quarters without allowing a rushing touchdown, breaking a club record from 1934. The Lions became the first NFL team since 1933 to allow 62 or fewer rushing yards in six-consecutive games without allowing a rushing touchdown. In 2011, Detroit won 10 games and earned a playoff berth for the first time since 1999.
Burke spent five years with the Tennessee Titans as an administrative assistant and defensive assistant. He worked primarily with linebackers in 2008 when the Titans posted a 13-3 mark, the best record in the NFL and tied for the winningest season in franchise history.
Burke also spent time coaching at Harvard (2003), Boston College (2002-03) and Bridgton Academy (1998-99) in Maine.
A native of Hudson, Massachusetts, Burke played safety at Dartmouth. He was part of an undefeated Ivy League championship team in 1996.
