Jim Britt Grobe (born February 17, 1952) 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 with ...
coach and former player who was most recently the defensive coordinator of the
San Antonio Commanders
The San Antonio Commanders were a professional American football franchise based in San Antonio, Texas, and one of the eight members of the Alliance of American Football (AAF). The league began play in February 2019. The team played their home g ...
of the
Alliance of American Football
The Alliance of American Football (AAF) was a professional American football minor league. The AAF consisted of eight centrally owned and operated teams in the southern and western United States, seven of which were located in metropolitan are ...
. His previous position to that was as head football coach at
Baylor University
Baylor University is a private Baptist Christian research university in Waco, Texas. Baylor was chartered in 1845 by the last Congress of the Republic of Texas. Baylor is the oldest continuously operating university in Texas and one of the fir ...
. From 2001 to 2013, Grobe served as the head football coach at
Wake Forest University
Wake Forest University is a private research university in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. Founded in 1834, the university received its name from its original location in Wake Forest, north of Raleigh, North Carolina. The Reynolda Campus, the un ...
. In 2006, he was named
ACC Coach of the Year by a unanimous vote and
AP Coach of the Year for coaching
Wake Forest to an 11–2 regular season and the Atlantic Coast Conference Championship.
Playing career
Grobe earned his undergraduate degree (B.S.) in education from the
University of Virginia
The University of Virginia (UVA) is a Public university#United States, public research university in Charlottesville, Virginia. Founded in 1819 by Thomas Jefferson, the university is ranked among the top academic institutions in the United S ...
in 1975 and earned a master's degree in guidance and counseling from Virginia in 1978. As a player at Virginia in 1973 and 1974, Grobe played
middle guard
The Imperial Guard (French: ''Garde Impériale'') was originally a small group of elite soldiers of the French Army under the direct command of Napoleon I, but grew considerably over time. It acted as his bodyguard and tactical reserve, and he ...
(1973) and
linebacker
Linebacker (LB) is a playing position in gridiron football. Linebackers are members of the defensive team, and line up three to five yards behind the line of scrimmage and the defensive linemen. They are the "middle ground" of defenders, p ...
(1974). He was a two-year starter for the
Virginia Cavaliers
The Virginia Cavaliers, also known as ''Wahoos'' or ''Hoos'', are the athletic teams representing the University of Virginia, located in Charlottesville. The Cavaliers compete at the NCAA Division I level ( FBS for football), in the Atlantic C ...
and was named Academic All-
ACC
ACC most often refers to:
* Atlantic Coast Conference, an NCAA Division I collegiate athletic conference located in the US
*American College of Cardiology, A US-based nonprofit medical association that bestows credentials upon cardiovascular spec ...
.
Before enrolling at Virginia, Grobe spent two seasons with
Ferrum College, then known as Ferrum Junior College, where he played linebacker on the undefeated Coastal Conference championship team. Grobe earned the Catlin Citizenship Award and the Big Green Award. In the fall of 2002, Grobe was inducted into the Ferrum College Hall of Fame.
Coaching career
Wake Forest
2006 season
In 2006, Grobe led
Wake Forest to a school record 11 wins with a perfect 6–0 road record. His Wake Forest team also won the Atlantic Coast Conference championship by virtue of defeating
Georgia Tech
The Georgia Institute of Technology, commonly referred to as Georgia Tech or, in the state of Georgia, as Tech or The Institute, is a public research university and institute of technology in Atlanta, Georgia. Established in 1885, it is part of ...
, 9–6, in the
conference title game. The Demon Deacons earned their first trip to a
BCS bowl game
In North America, a bowl game is one of a number of post-season college football games that are primarily played by teams belonging to the NCAA's Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS). For most of its history, the Division I Bowl Subdivis ...
and played
Louisville
Louisville ( , , ) is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Kentucky and the 28th most-populous city in the United States. Louisville is the historical seat and, since 2003, the nominal seat of Jefferson County, on the Indiana border.
...
in the
Orange Bowl
The Orange Bowl is an annual American college football bowl game played in the Miami metropolitan area. It has been played annually since January 1, 1935, making it, along with the Sugar Bowl and the Sun Bowl, the second-oldest bowl game in th ...
. Grobe was named the
ACC Coach of the Year, receiving 80 out of 80 votes from the league's media and making him the sixth Wake Forest coach to win the award. Grobe was also awarded the
Bobby Dodd Coach of the Year Award
The Bobby Dodd Coach of the Year Award is an annual college football award given to the Division I Football Bowl Subdivision head coach whose team excels on the field, in the classroom, and in the community. The award is named for Bobby Dodd, l ...
and the
AP Coach of the Year in 2006.
On February 27, 2007, Grobe signed a 10-year contract extension through 2016.
Resignation
Grobe resigned from Wake Forest on December 2, 2013.
Baylor
On May 30, 2016, Grobe was hired as Baylor's head coach for the 2016 season, coming out of semi-retirement. He made it known when he was brought on that he would not be a full time coach for the University, which had suspended and later terminated
Art Briles
Arthur Ray Briles (born December 3, 1955) is an American football coach who is currently the head coach for the Guelfi Firenze in the Italian Football League. Briles was the head coach of the Houston Cougars football, Houston Cougars from 2002 ...
due to the
Baylor University sexual assault scandal
The Baylor University sexual assault scandal was the result of numerous allegations of and convictions for sexual and non-sexual assaults committed by Baylor University students, mostly players in the Baylor Bears football team. During a period ...
. The Bears won their first six games before losing five in a row to close out the regular season. However, they Bears were invited to their seventh consecutive bowl game, the
Motel 6 Cactus Bowl in Arizona. Baylor entered the game as heavy underdogs to the 10–2
Boise State Broncos
The Boise State Broncos are the intercollegiate athletic teams that represent Boise State University, located in Boise, Idaho. The Broncos compete at the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I level as a member of the Moun ...
, but the Bears rolled to an easy 31–12 victory. After the game, Grobe retired again.
San Antonio Commanders
In 2018, Grobe was named the defensive coordinator of the San Antonio Commanders.
Family
Grobe and his wife Holly have two sons, Matt and Ben, and four grandchildren. Matt has been head men's golf coach at
Marshall University
Marshall University is a public research university in Huntington, West Virginia. It was founded in 1837 and is named after John Marshall, the fourth Chief Justice of the United States.
The university is currently composed of nine colleges: L ...
since 2012.
Ben has formerly served as Assistant Director of Football Operations at the
University of North Carolina at Charlotte
The University of North Carolina at Charlotte (UNC Charlotte or simply Charlotte) is a public research university in Charlotte, North Carolina. UNC Charlotte offers 24 doctoral, 66 master's, and 79 bachelor's degree programs through nine colle ...
.
Head coaching record
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Grobe, Jim
1952 births
Living people
Air Force Falcons football coaches
American football defensive linemen
American football linebackers
Baylor Bears football coaches
Coaches of American football from West Virginia
Emory and Henry Wasps football coaches
Ferrum Panthers football players
High school football coaches in Virginia
Marshall Thundering Herd football coaches
Ohio Bobcats football coaches
Players of American football from West Virginia
San Antonio Commanders coaches
Sportspeople from Huntington, West Virginia
Virginia Cavaliers football coaches
Virginia Cavaliers football players
Wake Forest Demon Deacons football coaches