UGa assistant Luke steps down to spend more time with family

Published Feb. 21, 2022 5:23 p.m. ET

Associated Press

ATHENS, Ga. (AP) — Matt Luke resigned Monday as Georgia's associate head coach and offensive line assistant, saying he wanted to spend more time with his family.

The 45-year-old Luke is a former head coach at Mississippi. He spent the last two seasons working for Georgia coach Kirby Smart, helping

“After much prayer and conversation with my family, I have decided to step away from coaching and shift my focus to spending more time with my family,” Luke said in a statement. “It has been an honor of a lifetime to be able to win a national championship with this staff and these players, and something I will never forget.”

Luke has coached for the past 23 years, including four stints at Ole Miss, his alma mater. He was the school's head coach from 2017-19, where he

Luke also coached at Murray State, Tennessee and Duke before joining Smart's staff in 2020.

“He has been an invaluable part of our staff and played a great role in helping us win a national championship," Smart said. “We are so appreciative of everything he has done for Georgia football.”

Smart said he's now "working on finding a coach that will continue to develop our young men and build our strong foundation with the offensive line.”

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