BATON ROUGE — Gary Gibbs, a former head coach at Oklahoma, has joined the LSU football staff as the Tigers’ defensive coordinator, head coach Nick Saban announced on Tuesday.
Gibbs, a native of Beaumont, Texas, spent the 2000 season as the defensive coordinator at Georgia where he helped the Bulldogs rank among the national leaders in defense. Georgia ranked 19th in the nation in total defense in 2000 and the Bulldogs were 12th in the country in scoring defense by allowing just 18 points a contest.
“I’ve known Gary for a long time and I’ve always thought he was an outstanding football coach, a great person and a guy that represents the principles and values of this program as well as anybody I can think of,” Saban said. “The fact that he was at Georgia last year, coached in this league, and helped them make a significant improvement in the quality of defense that they played, made him a natural for this position.”
Gibbs served as head coach at Oklahoma from 1989 to 1994 where he led the Sooners to three bowl games and a combined record of 44-23-2. Gibbs coached the Sooners to victories in the 1991 Gator Bowl and the 1993 John Hancock Bowl. Oklahoma also played in the 1994 Copper Bowl under Gibbs.
Gibbs started his coaching career at Oklahoma as a graduate assistant from 1975-76 and then he served the 1977 season with the Sooners as a part-time coach. Gibbs was elevated to linebackers coach for Oklahoma in 1978 and in 1981 he was promoted to defensive coordinator for the Sooners, a position he held until his promotion to head coach in 1989.
Under Gibbs’ watch as defensive coordinator, the Sooners won the 1985 national championship and Oklahoma finished first in the nation in total defense three times and first nationally in rushing defense twice.
“I’m very honored and privileged to have the opportunity to be a part of Coach Saban’s staff,” Gibbs said. “There’s a great deal of excitement associated with this program. Last year was certainly an outstanding season and I’m just excited to have the opportunity to be a part of this tradition-rich program.”
As a player, Gibbs was a linebacker at Oklahoma from 1972 to 1974, a span that saw the Sooners post a 32-2-1 overall mark and finish ranked No. 1 in the nation in 1974. Oklahoma was No. 2 in the nation in 1972 and they finished ranked third nationally in 1973.
Overall, during his 23 years with Oklahoma as a player, assistant and head coach, the Sooners played in 16 bowl games and they won three national titles.
Gibbs received both his bachelor’s degree and master’s degree from Oklahoma. He and his wife, Jeanne, have two daughters, Whitley and Jordan.