Doeren Stays In-House to Fill Defensive Coordinator Post
Football coach Dave Doeren didn’t take long to decide on a new leader for NC State’s defense. And he didn’t have to look very far, either.
Doeren announced Wednesday that Tony Gibson will now serve as the Wolfpack’s defensive coordinator and will coach the team’s linebackers.
Gibson worked with the safeties and served as co-defensive coordinator with Dave Huxtable during the recently completed 2019 season. He assumes full control of the defense after Huxtable was fired on Monday.
“I look forward to building our defense with Tony Gibson as the leader,” Doeren.said in a statement. “He has a strong vision for what we need to do on defense and his knowledge of our personnel and recruits will help us design the structure of our defense around our talent.”
A 24-year coaching veteran, Gibson came State last year from West Virginia, where he served as associate head coach for three seasons and defensive coordinator for five seasons while also coaching linebackers and safeties.
His influence weighted heavily in the Wolfpack’s switch to a three-man front this season, a change that helped produce 35 sacks. Other areas of the defense suffered, however, because of a rash of injuries that saw four cornerbacks sidelined for all or part of the season and several other key players miss multiple games on the way to a 4-8 record.
In addition to his time at West Virginia, Gibson also served tenures at Arizona and Michigan.
“I’m very honored and excited to be named the defensive coordinator,” said Gibson. “ I look forward to helping continue the growth of these young men and to be a part of a great staff here at NC State.”
