Matt Lubick may be the newest member of Duke’s coaching staff, but he is no stranger to the game. His father, Sonny, was the head coach at Colorado State from 1993-2007, amassing a career record of 108-74 for the Rams. Lubick’s brother, Marc, spent five seasons as an assistant at Colorado State before taking a job as an offensive assistant for the NFL’s Houston Texans in February.
“I know I use my dad, as does my brother, as our number-one resource,” Lubick said. “We have a really close-knit family and it’s neat right now, the fact that [our father is] retired and he can still come out and be involved in football, spending time with [Marc and] the Texans and have a chance to come down here.”
For the greater part of the 1980s and early 1990s, Sonny Lubick was regarded as one of the finest assistants in Division I football. His rising popularity ultimately led to his hiring as defensive coordinator at Miami under head coach Dennis Erickson in 1988.
In four years with the Hurricanes, Sonny won two national championships. But just as was the case for Duke’s own David Cutcliffe, he still sought the opportunity to lead his own program. Then in 1993, at age 56, Sonny Lubick was hired as head coach at Colorado State—a program many considered to be among the worst in college football.
Not unlike Cutcliffe, Sonny began assembling a coaching staff of budding assistants he had come into contact with over the years. For the next three seasons, the Rams’ wide receivers coach would be a bright young offensive mind by the name of Urban Meyer.
“The key at Colorado State, and it’s a lot like here [at Duke], is getting people to believe they can win,” Lubick said. “Once you start winning, it’s contagious. It wasn’t like they were that far off, they just needed to get over that hump, which is a hard hump to get over. Then once you do start winning and that belief becomes contagious with the rest of the players, it follows through in recruiting—and I see that happening here.”
As his own coaching career has developed, Lubick hasn’t strayed far from his family ties—until his move to Durham. After bouncing around early on, Lubick coached on his father’s staff at Colorado State for four years from 2001-2004. Then, following two years under Cutcliffe’s successor Ed Orgeron at Mississippi, Lubick headed to Arizona State and served on Erickson’s staff as safeties coach and recruiting coordinator—and eventually was named assistant head coach in Tempe, Ariz.
Even though he is now outside of his father’s coaching circle, Lubick said the similar styles Cutcliffe and his father share played a part in drawing him away from the southwest.
“Career path-wise they’re very similar, but also in fundamental values and beliefs,” Lubick said. “They’re both Catholic and the way they speak to the team, the way they treat other people, the way they treat coaches—they have great people skills and they have no egos. They’re just great people down to the core and I think that’s why people want to play so hard for guys like that, because they genuinely feel that this guy cares about me more than just a football player or a coach.
“That’s one of the things I took for granted when I was coaching with my dad [and] then went on to other places. That doesn’t happen everywhere. And now that I’m here, it reminds me a lot of that.”
Lubick is widely considered to be one of the best young coaches in the collegiate ranks as well as a top recruiter, earning nationwide respect for his recruiting efforts with the Sun Devils. He squared off in recruiting battles with Pac-10 rivals USC and Oregon, and is credited with drawing five-star linebacker Vontaze Burfict—the highest-rated recruit in program history—to the Sun Devils.
Even with Burfict’s signature on the dotted line, perhaps the most high-profile recruit to sign with Arizona State during Lubick’s tenure was snagged right out of his father Sonny’s territory in south suburban Denver—Jack Elway, son of NFL Hall of Famer John Elway.
“It was a great experience,” Lubick said of recruting the younger Elway. “John and Janet were really involved in Jack’s life. John’s always been a hero of mine, so going over and doing a home visit at John Elway’s house was a big treat for me.”
At Duke, Lubick will serve as receivers’ coach, passing game coordinator and recruiting coordinator. In moving back to the offensive side of the ball, Lubick indicated that his experience coaching in the secondary at Arizona State has given him a better understanding of how offenses operate, which should prove advantageous in recognizing and responding to different coverages opposing defenses may throw at Duke.
Perhaps most importantly, the Blue Devils hope that Lubick can bring his recruiting charm to Durham as the program continues to grow. While Cutcliffe has focused on in-state recruiting during his tenure, Lubick may be able to give Duke a national recruiting presence.
“We want the recruit to believe that when they come here, they’re becoming a part of a football team that’s going to compete,” Lubick said. “You’re not only going to get one of the best educations in the country, you’re going to have a chance to compete for the ACC championship, and our kids believe that.”
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