Rob Reader, Kentucky High School Football Coach, Dies after Battle with Cancer

Rob Reader, J.J. Weaver’s high school coach that turned around Louisville Moore’s football program, died Thursday. He was 50.

A Louisville native, Reader became the head coach at Moore High School in 2017. With Weaver’s help, in his second season the Mustangs went 11-2 and reached the third round of the playoffs. Following the 2018 campaign he was named Kentucky High School Football Coach of the Year by the Courier Journal.

Reader became Marion County’s head coach in 2019 to be closer to his home of Springfield. He was diagnosed with liver cancer in November. Marion County athletic director Michael Holt said Rob Reader was on the sideline for the Knights’ season-opening game vs. Thomas Nelson.

“He wasn’t able to be around much the last few weeks, but he was able to be at the game,” Holt told the Courier Journal. “That’s the one thing he told the kids when he got diagnosed with this. He promised them that he would be there August 20, and he fought and fought to make sure he kept his promise to those kids. I can’t say enough about how hard he fought this battle.”

A beloved member of the Kentucky high school football community, Reader’s loss touches the lives of countless individuals across the Commonwealth. He will be missed.

I’m sad to learn that Coach Reader has passed away. He influenced so many young lives and he will be greatly missed. Prayers go out to his friends and family during this tough time.

— Mark Stoops (@UKCoachStoops) August 26, 2021