Matt Burns is a legacy teacher and coach at Newport Harbor High, where four generations of his family have roamed the halls past the Web Jones Heritage Hall Museum and strolled near the large, 13-foot-tall, 23,000-pound military anchor situated outside of the small gymnasium and facing Irvine Avenue.
In June, Wyatt Burns, the youngest of three children to Erin and Matt Burns, became the 11th family member to graduate or attend the school.
Adding significance was the fact that Wyatt’s father, a science teacher and football coach at Newport Harbor, handed him his diploma, which made the “milestone even more special,” Erin Burns said. “Having both his sisters (Megan and Molly) home for the weekend made our celebrations complete.”
Erin and Matt Burns both graduated in 1994, and Erin Burns’ father, Don Gregg (Class of ’63), and grandparents, William Flanagan and Nancy Towle (classes of ’42 and ’43, respectively), also graduated from Newport Harbor. Megan and Molly Burns both played volleyball for the Sailors and graduated in 2022 and 2023, respectively.
Matt Burns, in addition to his fine football résumé, has also been recognized as an outstanding teacher.
Burns, who also coached Newport Harbor’s surf team for several years, was named as one of the Teachers of the Year in the Newport-Mesa Unified School District in 2025.
Out of 24 school-level honorees, Burns was selected as one of three flagship educators to represent the district in the Orange County Department of Education’s countywide Teacher of the Year program. He has been teaching biology and science for more than two decades.
“(Burns) is the heart and soul of the teaching staff,” said former Newport Harbor Principal Sean Boulton, who, after serving as principal at the school for 13 years, accepted the position of director of facilities, athletics and performing arts operations for the school district this year.
According to his wife, Burns bleeds Navy, one of the Newport Harbor colors. The license plate on his car reads “Tar Ball.” As a player, Burns was a team captain and John Gust Award recipient under legendary Tars coach Jeff Brinkley, who served at the helm for 32 years.
Burns is the second Newport Harbor football alum to serve as head coach, following Al Irwin, who played in the 1930s and coached in the 1940s and ’50s.
This year, Burns has rejuvenated the program and the Sailors are back in the CIF Southern Section playoffs for the first time in three years.
“I think what has surprised me the most about this team is just how unselfish they are,” Burns said. “We have a lot of talented players and some special athletes who could easily get caught up in individual statistics, touches, or personal recognition. But that simply hasn’t been the case. Nobody complains about not getting the ball or worries about how many touches they’re getting. They genuinely pull for one another and celebrate each other’s success. When you have this many talented players, that isn’t always easy to accomplish.”
After starting 2-0 with a 41-0 victory over Nanakuli in their season-opening trip to Hawaii and an impressive 29-24 win over Murrieta Mesa, the Sailors lost a hard-fought game on the road to Lancaster, 44-35, and came up short against rival Corona del Mar, 16-6, in the Battle of the Bay. Lancaster, CdM and Newport Harbor were all 7-2 heading into the final week of the regular season.
“Football has a funny way of teaching you that the most important thing isn’t whether you win or lose your last game – it’s what you do next,” said Burns, whose Sailors stormed to five straight wins, including a 4-0 record in the Epsilon League with dominating wins over Foothill (48-7), Tesoro (44-19), Aliso Niguel (56-7) and Brea Olinda (34-7).
“Getting Newport Harbor back into the CIF playoffs is incredibly rewarding, especially as an alumnus and now the head coach,” Burns said. “There is a tremendous amount of pride that comes with representing this school and its football tradition. I’m especially happy for our seniors, who have bought into what we’re building and deserve the opportunity to experience playoff football. But we’re not satisfied just getting there. We believe this team has more football left to play, and we’re excited about what lies ahead.”
The Sailors played Trabuco Hills in the Epsilon League championship game Oct. 30.
Richard Dunn, a longtime sportswriter, writes the Dunn Deal column regularly for The Orange County Register’s weekly, The Coastal Current North.