Georgia Football Loses Another Assistant Coach

Matt Luke, Georgia's offensive line coach, has decided to step down according to UGASports, who reported the news on Monday.

Luke released a statement following the news of his departure.

"Today, 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. "I want to thank Coach Smart, his wife Mary Beth, and the entire Georgia family for an incredible past two seasons. I also appreciate Coach Smart’s support in my decision today. He’s a great coach, and I’ll always cherish his friendship. 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."

Before joining Georgia, Luke spent eight years at Ole Miss, including the last three as the Rebels head coach (2017-19) after former Ole Miss head coach Hugh Freeze resigned. After leading the Rebels to a 15-21 record in his three seasons coaching the program, he was fired and soon hired by Georgia to replace Sam Pittman, who left to become the head coach of Arkansas, as their offensive line coach.

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Under his coaching last season, the Bulldogs offensive line only allowed 16 sacks en route to winning the program's first national championship in 41 years. Luke has also coached some All-SEC players in his two years at Georgia, including left tackle Jamaree Salyer and left guard Justin Shaffer, who both made the 2021 Second Team All-SEC, as well as tackle Ben Cleveland, who made the 2020 First Team All-SEC.

"He has been an invaluable part of our staff and played a great role in helping us win a National Championship," Georgia head coach Kirby Smart said in a statement. "We are so appreciative of everything he has done for Georgia Football."

Luke is the fourth assistant coach to leave Georgia after the 2021 season, following in the footsteps of defensive coordinator Dan Lanning, defensive backs coach Jahmile Addae, and receivers coach Cortez Hankton, who all also left the program.