Derrick Gibson named the next head football coach at Miami Central: Report

The former Florida Atlantic assistant has been tabbed as the Rockets' next lead man

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It didn't take Miami Central too long to figure out who they were going to bring in to take over the vacant head football coaching position.

On Monday, according to The Portal 305, the Rockets have named Derrick Gibson as the football program's next head coach. Gibson is no unfamiliar name to Miami Central as he coached Miami Central's defensive units from 2009-2019 before moving on to coach safeties at Florida Atlantic University.

Footballville on Saturday posted on X that expectations were that the Rockets would be named as Miami Central's next head coach.

Derrick Gibson, a former FSU DB & longtime Central assistant, is expected to take over. He was part of Central’s championship runs & recently coached at FAU. Now, he looks to restore the Rockets’ dominance. #MiamiCentral #HighSchoolFootball

— Footballville (@Footballville) February 8, 2025

Gibson takes over for Jube Joseph, whom the school parted ways with last week.

Joseph led the Rockets to an undefeated 14-0 season in 2022, defeating IMG Academy to start the season and his tenure off with a bang. His first season culminated with a Class 2M state championship when they defeated Plantation American Heritage.

The Rockets’ state title streak ended in 2023 as they slumped to 8-5 and were eliminated by Miami area rival Norland in the state semifinals.

The 2024 season began with high hopes of a bounce back but eventually spiraled into complete turmoil, ultimately ending with the Rockets forfeiting eight victories which flipped their record from 8-1 to 0-9 and forcing them to miss the FHSAA Class 3A state playoffs.

With Gibson heading back to coach the Rockets, where he coached defensively for a decade, Miami Central loses practically no time from one head coach to the next.

There's a ton of familiarity when it comes to Gibson and Miami-Dade high school football, as the former FSU defensive back led Killian from 2019-2021 and had an overall record of 26-6.

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