CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — David Gibbs is Illinois' new associate head coach/defensive backs coach, head coach Bret Bielema announced Tuesday. Gibbs' contract is pending approval by the University of Illinois Board of Trustees at its next meeting in March.
Gibbs is a 32-year veteran of the coaching industry, including 14 seasons as a coordinator in college football and nine seasons as a defensive backs coach for three National Football League organizations.
"I have known and respected David for over 30 years in this profession," said Bielema. "I have seen the results of his coaching on the field and his recruiting efforts on many different occasions. He brings a great amount of value and experience that will immediately impact our football program here at Illinois. He and his wife, Debbie, are going to be a great addition to our football famILLy, the University of Illinois, and Champaign-Urbana communities."
"I'm excited to get to Champaign and join Coach Bielema and the Illinois football famILLy," said Gibbs. "I have watched Coach Bielema's teams for a long time, and I have always been impressed with how they play the game. I am grateful for the opportunity and look forward to getting to work with the great staff and student-athletes within our Fighting Illini program."
Gibbs joins the Fighting Illini from UCF, where he served as the program's co-defensive coordinator/secondary coach for the last three seasons. He played a major role in the Knights' defensive surge during his time in Orlando and helped lead UCF into a new era of Power-5 football in the Big 12 Conference, as he arrived to a youthful yet talented secondary and developed the unit into one of the most productive in the country.
Gibbs helped UCF go 24-15 in his three seasons, including a berth in the 2022 American Athletic Conference Championship Game and three straight bowl appearances in two Gasparilla Bowls and one Military Bowl. The Knights had three ranked wins in Gibbs' last two seasons in Orlando, including victories over #20 Cincinnati and #17 Tulane in 2022 and a dominant 45-3 win against #15 Oklahoma State in 2023. The Knights led the Big 12 in fewest passing yards allowed (196.7) last season and ranked fifth in the conference in scoring defense (25.8).
The wins over Cincinnati and Tulane in 2022 paved the way for UCF to earn a spot in the American Athletic Conference Championship Game. The Knight defense ranked first nationally in red-zone defense much of the fall, before finishing fifth in the regular season in all of college football. UCF held seven opponents to 20 or fewer points and allowed 23.6 points per game overall (third in AAC).
Gibbs and UCF won six of their final seven games to finish the 2021 season, including a 29-17 Gasparilla Bowl victory over Florida to finish the season with a 9-4 record. The UCF defense permitted just 11.8 points per game in the six victories during the end-of-the-season run.
The Knights averaged 8.1 tackles for loss and 5.0 sacks in those six games—and finished the regular season ranked seventh nationally in pass efficiency defense (110.73) and 26th in tackles for loss (6.8 per game). Gibbs and his secondary made significant contributions as the Knights improved 97 spots in the NCAA pass efficiency defense ratings from 2020 and also allowed 89.1 fewer passing yards per game in 2021, an improvement of 86 slots in the final NCAA statistics.
Prior to UCF, Gibbs was the secondary coach at Missouri in 2019 and 2020, after spending four seasons as defensive coordinator (2015-18) at Texas Tech, where his defenses became known as some of the top turnover-creating units in the country.
Missouri's defense in 2019 allowed the fewest first downs (195) of any FBS program while also ranking sixth nationally in pass defense (179.3 yards per game) under Gibbs. The Tigers were ninth in pass efficiency defense, 14th in total defense (312.0), and 16th in scoring defense (19.4).
In 2017, Texas Tech led the Big 12 Conference and ranked sixth nationally with 29 forced turnovers, including four defensive scores, the most by a Texas Tech defense since 2001. From 2013-17, Gibbs' defenses at Texas Tech and Houston forced a combined 140 turnovers, tied for most in the nation among any defensive coordinator during that five-year span.
In his first season at the helm of the Texas Tech defense in 2015, Gibbs preached the importance of forcing turnovers, and the effects showed as Texas Tech went from a minus-13 turnover margin in 2014 to plus-two in 2015. The Red Raiders picked off 15 passes and recovered 10 fumbles in 2015, one year after forcing just 15 turnovers altogether.
Gibbs previously served as defensive coordinator at Minnesota (1997-2000), Auburn (2005) and Houston (2013-14) and also took over as interim head coach for the Cougars' appearance in the 2015 Armed Forces Bowl. In that game, Gibbs' team posted the biggest fourth-quarter comeback win in bowl-game history, overcoming a 31-6 deficit with just 11 minutes remaining to notch a thrilling 35-34 victory over Pittsburgh.
Gibbs quickly changed the defensive culture at Houston shortly after his arrival in 2013. The Cougars ranked as the third-most improved scoring defense nationally and ranked 20th in the country after allowing 21.8 points per game, a significant improvement from the 36 points per game Houston surrendered in 2012.
The 2013 Houston defense led the nation with 43 turnovers forced to pace the Cougars to a best-in-the-nation plus-25 turnover margin. Trevon Stewart led the nation and set a Houston record with six fumble recoveries, while Adrian McDonald led the AAC with six interceptions.
The dramatic defensive overhaul under Gibbs continued in 2014 as Houston finished the regular season ranked 11th nationally in scoring defense at 19.5 points per game and 19th nationally in total defense at 334.6 yards per game. The Houston defense was fifth nationally with 30 takeaways, including 19 interceptions (sixth nationally).
Prior to Houston, Gibbs' last collegiate coaching stop was in 2005, when he served as defensive coordinator at Auburn. The Tiger defense ranked sixth nationally in scoring defense, allowing just 15.5 points per game that season, while ranking 11th in sacks (39) and 16th in third-down defense.
In the NFL, Gibbs spent a combined nine seasons in Denver, Kansas City, and Houston as a defensive backs coach. Teams sporting Gibbs on staff finished in the top 12 of total defense five times and advanced to the NFL Playoffs on three occasions. Three players who worked under Gibbs earned NFL Pro Bowl selections: Champ Bailey, John Lynch, and Deltha O'Neal.
Prior to joining the professional ranks, Gibbs became the youngest coordinator on the FBS level at the time, as the then-29-year-old took over as defensive coordinator at Minnesota in 1997. Gibbs improved a Minnesota defense that had ranked last in the Big Ten in 1996 to a unit ranked eighth in the nation in pass efficiency defense and scoring defense by 1999.
Under Gibbs' tutelage, Minnesota's Tyrone Carter won the 1999 Jim Thorpe Award and back-to-back All-America honors in 1998 and 1999. Defensive end Lamanzer Williams earned All-America honors in 1997 as Gibbs' defense produced an All-American in three straight seasons for the first time at Minnesota since 1961-63.
Gibbs earned his first full-time coaching position in 1995 at Kansas, where he coached the program's defensive backs. The Jayhawks advanced to just their eighth bowl game in program history in Gibbs' first year, when they defeated UCLA in the Aloha Bowl. Gibbs earned his first coaching opportunity with back-to-back two-year stints as a graduate assistant at both Colorado and Oklahoma.
The Auburn, Alabama, native was a four-year letterman at Colorado from 1987-90. He started at defensive back for the 1990 national title-winning Buffaloes team and the 11-1 1989 team that finished fourth nationally in the final polls. Gibbs graduated from Colorado in 1990, earning Academic All-Big Eight honors as a senior.
Gibbs and his wife, Debbie, are the parents of two children, Hudson and Charlie Grace.
