Matt Lubick is in his third season at Oregon's receivers coach. On many FBS staffs that would make him one of the longest-tenured assistants on staff. In Oregon's offensive staff room, he's more like a child sitting at the grandparents' table.
Running backs coach Gary Campbell and offensive line coach Steve Greatwood have deposited a combined 60 years in Eugene. Tight ends coach Tom Osborne has been around another 14. And head coach Mark Helfrich is about to complete his eighth year on Oregon's staff, four as offensive coordinator and now three as head coach.
But despite that (relative) lack of experience, it was Lubick whom Helfrich chose to step in for Scott Frost as the Ducks' play-caller in their Alamo Bowl date with TCU.
Though he hasn't earned the full-time job, he's definitely in the running. And by nature of where the men who previously held that job now rise (as the head coaches of the Philadelphia Eagles, Oregon and Central Florida), being Oregon's offensive coordinator is like being strapped into a rocket ship for your career.
Lubick isn't thinking about all that, though.
"I want to do what's best for the football team, whatever that is," he told The Oregonian. "If that means being the offensive coordinator then I'm going to embrace it, attack it and do the best I can. ... I can't emphasize this enough, I'm just happy to be here. I'm in a great place with a bunch of great people where I look for ward to going to work every day."
Lubick views his opportunity in a Helfrich-ian fashion. Which, in its own way, may end up making him the best guy for the job.
"Pressure is when you're doing something and you don't know what you're doing," Lubick said. "If you know what you're doing you shouldn't feel pressure. I feel good about that.
"I feel like I have a ton of support. It seems like my name is being brought up in a lot of different things and media this and that, but nothing much has changed. We're a team here and our coaches all work together when we prepare a game plan. The word 'coordinator' is just a fancy title that somebody has."