David Alexander Gibbs (born January 10, 1968) is an

American football American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team wi ...

coach Coach may refer to: Guidance/instruction * Coach (sport), a director of athletes' training and activities * Coaching, the practice of guiding an individual through a process ** Acting coach, a teacher who trains performers Transportation * Co ...

and former player. He was most recently the defensive coordinator for

Texas Tech University Texas Tech University (Texas Tech, Tech, or TTU) is a public research university in Lubbock, Texas. Established on , and called Texas Technological College until 1969, it is the main institution of the five-institution Texas Tech University Sy ...

, a position he held since January 2015. Gibbs previously served in a similar capacity at the

University of Minnesota The University of Minnesota, formally the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities, (UMN Twin Cities, the U of M, or Minnesota) is a public land-grant research university in the Twin Cities of Minneapolis and Saint Paul, Minnesota, United States. ...

, Auburn University, and the

University of Houston The University of Houston (UH) is a public research university in Houston, Texas. Founded in 1927, UH is a member of the University of Houston System and the university in Texas with over 47,000 students. Its campus, which is primarily in s ...

, as well as an assistant coach in the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the ...

(NFL) for the

Denver Broncos The Denver Broncos are a professional American football franchise based in Denver. The Broncos compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) West division. The team is headquar ...

Kansas City Chiefs The Kansas City Chiefs are a professional American football team based in Kansas City, Missouri. The Chiefs compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) West division. The ...

and Houston Texans.

Playing career

Gibbs began his playing career at Auburn High School, in

Auburn, Alabama Auburn is a city in Lee County, Alabama, United States. It is the largest city in eastern Alabama, with a 2020 population of 76,143. It is a principal city of the Auburn-Opelika Metropolitan Area. The Auburn-Opelika, AL MSA with a population ...

, while his father was offensive coordinator at nearby Auburn University. Gibbs went on to attend the

University of Colorado The University of Colorado (CU) is a system of public universities in Colorado. It consists of four institutions: University of Colorado Boulder, University of Colorado Colorado Springs, University of Colorado Denver, and the University o ...

, where he was a four-year letterman at defensive back from 1986 through 1990. He was named to the Academic All- Big Eight team as a senior, leading the Buffaloes to the 1990

national championship A national championship(s) is the top achievement for any sport or contest within a league of a particular nation or nation state. The title is usually awarded by contests, ranking systems, stature, ability, etc. This determines the best team, indi ...

under coach

Bill McCartney William Paul McCartney (born August 22, 1940) is a former American football player and coach and the founder of the Promise Keepers men's ministry. He was the head coach at the University of Colorado Boulder for thirteen seasons (1982–1994), ...

Coaching career

After graduating from Colorado, Gibbs served as a

graduate assistant A graduate assistant serves in a support role at a university, usually while completing post-graduate education. The assistant typically helps professors with instructional responsibilities as teaching assistants or with academic research respo ...

at the

University of Oklahoma , mottoeng = "For the benefit of the Citizen and the State" , type = Public research university , established = , academic_affiliations = , endowment = $2.7billion (2021) , pr ...

and at Colorado. In 1995, he became the secondary coach at the

University of Kansas The University of Kansas (KU) is a public research university with its main campus in Lawrence, Kansas, United States, and several satellite campuses, research and educational centers, medical centers, and classes across the state of Kansas. T ...

under head coach

Glen Mason Glen Orin Mason (born April 9, 1950) is a former American football American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a re ...

. When Mason was appointed head coach at the

in 1997, Gibbs was hired as the Golden Gophers' defensive coordinator, the youngest coordinator in

Division I-A The NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS), formerly known as Division I-A, is the highest level of college football in the United States. The FBS consists of the largest schools in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). A ...

at that time. Gibbs improved a Minnesota defense that had ranked last in the

Big Ten Conference The Big Ten Conference (stylized B1G, formerly the Western Conference and the Big Nine Conference) is the oldest Division I collegiate athletic conference in the United States. Founded as the Intercollegiate Conference of Faculty Representati ...

in 1996 to one that was ranked eighth in the nation in pass and scoring defense by 1999. From 2001 through 2004, Gibbs coached defense for the

, which by 2003 was rated the fourth strongest defense in the NFL. In 2005, he returned to Auburn to be defensive coordinator for Auburn University, where his defense ranked sixth in the NCAA in scoring defense and led the

Southeastern Conference The Southeastern Conference (SEC) is an American college athletic conference whose member institutions are located primarily in the South Central and Southeastern United States. Its fourteen members include the flagship public universities o ...

(SEC) in sacks. Gibbs became defensive backs coach for the

in 2006. Gibbs was hired as defensive backs coach by the Houston Texans in January 2009. Following the 2010 season, the Texans fired him along with defensive coordinator

Frank Bush Frank Bush (born January 10, 1963) is the linebackers coach of the Atlanta Falcons. He is a former American football linebacker in the National Football League. He was drafted by the Houston Oilers in the fifth round of the 1985 NFL Draft. He pl ...

. After a one-year hiatus from coaching, he spent 2012 coaching defensive backs for the

Virginia Destroyers The Virginia Destroyers were a professional American football team based in Virginia Beach, Virginia. They began play in the United Football League (UFL) in the 2011 season. They played their home games at the Virginia Beach Sportsplex. The tea ...

of the United Football League (UFL). Gibbs accepted the position of defensive coordinator at the

on January 15, 2013. He resigned that position on January 5, 2015 after coaching the biggest winning fourth quarter comeback in bowl history at the 2015 Armed Forces Bowl with the score of 35–34. On January 5, 2015 Gibbs was hired for the same position at

Texas Tech Texas Tech University (Texas Tech, Tech, or TTU) is a public research university in Lubbock, Texas. Established on , and called Texas Technological College until 1969, it is the main institution of the five-institution Texas Tech University Sys ...

. He was Texas Tech's sixth defensive coordinator since 2009.

Personal life

Gibbs is the son of

Alex Gibbs Alexander Gibbs, Jr. (February 22, 1941 – July 12, 2021) was an American professional football coach who was a longtime offensive line coach in the National Football League (NFL). He coached college football for over a decade before joining t ...

, a longtime NFL assistant coach.

Head coaching record

Notes

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Gibbs, David 1968 births Living people American football defensive backs Auburn Tigers football coaches Colorado Buffaloes football players Denver Broncos coaches Houston Cougars football coaches Houston Texans coaches Kansas City Chiefs coaches Kansas Jayhawks football coaches Minnesota Golden Gophers football coaches Texas Tech Red Raiders football coaches Virginia Destroyers coaches Auburn High School (Alabama) alumni People from Mount Airy, North Carolina