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Matt Lubick has been diagnosed with leukemia, he told ESPN.
The longtime assistant coach is currently an offensive analyst with Kansas. According to ESPN’s Pete Thamel, Lubick is being treated at the Anschutz Center for Advanced Medicine in Aurora, Colorado. Cancer specialists are still determining the best course of treatment, according to Thamel.
“The texts and support mean more than you can know,” Lubick told ESPN. “It’s been spiritually uplifting and energized me. There’s a purpose to this and I’ve gotten some meaning through the suffering. It’s humbling to know you’ve impacted people’s lives.”
Lubick has been all over college football since beginning his career as a grad assistant on his father Sonny Lubick’s Colorado State staff in 1995.
He has been all over the Power Five level, with stops at Oregon State (1999-2000), Ole Miss (2005-06), Arizona State (2007-09), Duke (2010-12), Oregon (2013-16), Washington (2017-18), and Nebraska (2020-21). He has been an offensive coordinator, a wideout coach, and a defensive backs coach.
According to Thamel, Lubick is still working with Kansas through his diagnosis. This week, Lubick broke down Oklahoma State tape — Kansas’ next opponent — with KU’s staff from the hospital.
“You don’t have to work during this stuff,” Lubick told ESPN. “I do it for therapy. The Kansas staff being so loving and caring and supportive has given me strength and given me purpose. It’s been therapeutic for me to keep mind off stuff.”
According to Thamel, Lubick went to the doctor in late August after a 16-mile run that left him feeling unwell. Further testing led to an official diagnosis of Acute Myeloid Leukemia.
Lubick is one of the most respected coaches in the profession. He told Thamel “it’s really hard to put into words” how much the messages and well-wishes from those who have reached out have meant to him.
Derek Peterson does a bit of everything, not unlike Taysom Hill. He has covered Oklahoma, Nebraska, the Pac-12, and now delivers CFB-wide content.
