Wolfpack assistant coach has leukemia

Dana Bible, N.C. State's offensive coordinator, has acute promyelocytic leukemia, and will undergo treatment that will interrupt his coaching career for at least the next month.

Bible, in his third year on the staff, will not coach in Saturday's home game against North Carolina. He missed last Saturday's 38-10 loss at Virginia Tech while undergoing tests.

Bible is being treated in Chapel Hill at UNC Hospitals' Lineberger Cancer Center. Coach Tom O'Brien of N.C. State said yesterday, in a subdued weekly meeting with reporters, that Bible will undergo 30 days of treatment and doctors will then assess his status.

O'Brien could not say if the cancer has been caught at an early enough time.

"Certainly it's not a good situation," O'Brien said. "It's shocking to everybody. When he walked into my office Friday, he certainly didn't look good."

Bible went to see John Rubino, the N.C. State team doctor, last Thursday. Bible saw Rubino again on Friday and was admitted to UNC Hospitals that night.

According to the website eHow.com, Bible's leukemia is caused when bone marrow produces an excessive amount of abnormal white blood cells that disrupts creation of red blood cells. Three forms of treatment are available.

The most effective treatment is ATRA, which stands for all-trans retinoic acid. ATRA treatment makes the abnormal white cells develop into mature cells, according to the website, which helps stop their spread and their hindrance on creation of red cells. The website reported that ATRA treatment can have a 90 percent success rate.

"He's a tough old guy, and he'll fight it," O'Brien said. "If he has a chance to beat it, he'll beat it."

Bible, 56, has worked for O'Brien the last 11 years, including eight years at Boston College. He is in his second coaching stint at N.C. State, after working on the staff of Coach Tom Reed for three seasons starting in 1983.

Yesterday was an off day from practice for N.C. State's players. O'Brien told Russell Wilson and Mike Glennon, N.C. State's quarterbacks, of Bible's condition.

O'Brien planned to tell the other players late yesterday afternoon. Julian Williams, an offensive guard, and Bobby Floyd, a linebacker, were told of Bible's condition by N.C. State officials moments before being interviewed at O'Brien's press briefing.

Floyd said that the revelation was tough to hear, even for a defensive player.

"As far the offense, he means the world to us because he's such a good guy," Williams said. "When it comes to play-calling, he's the best. It's a big blow to us, but he has other things right now that he needs to take care of. We'll take care of the football."

O'Brien told his team last Friday, after arrival in Blacksburg, only that Bible was undergoing tests and would not be at the game. Jason Swepson, the running backs coach, took over Bible's role sitting in the coaches' box and calling plays.

Swepson called the plays down to O'Brien, who sent them to Wilson. Normally Bible would call down the plays to Swepson, who would send them to Wilson. Bible called all the plays in his job as offensive coordinator.

"He has for 11 years, except when I get mad sometimes," O'Brien said, managing a smile.

O'Brien said that he would be able to immediately hire a replacement coach under NCAA rules. He plans to add Jay Civetti, the offensive coordinator at Tufts, a NCAA Division III school whose season is over.

Civetti worked for O'Brien as a graduate assistant at Boston College and N.C. State. He is a 2001 graduate of Trinity College. Tufts scored 94 points in finishing 2-6. It scored more than nine points only once in a season-ending five-game losing streak.

O'Brien said that Civetti is familiar with the N.C. State offense from his time working as a graduate assistant. He said that the offensive coordinator's role against UNC would be shared by the offensive staff.

Williams is confident that the N.C. State team will use Bible's absence to band together in preparing for Saturday's game.

"This is big," Williams said. "This is huge for us. It's huge for the team. It's already a big rivalry game, and it just added 10 times more now."

bcole@wsjournal.com.