Jaguars Officially Hire Two Former Players to Coaching Staff
The Jacksonville Jaguars have added two former players to their staff; Denard Robinson as an offensive quality control coach and Tony Gilbert as an assistant linebackers coach. The Jags already have a third former player on the staff, Keenan McCardell, the current wide receivers coach. McCardell played for Jacksonville from 1996-2001 and had been the team's receivers coach since 2017.
Related: Report: Jaguars to Hire Denard Robinson as Offensive Assistant
Robinson was a part of General Manager Dave Caldwell’s first draft class back in 2013, when he was drafted in the 5th round out of Michigan. Robinson would end up playing four seasons for Jacksonville, appearing in 55 games and starting in 13 over the course of his tenure. The former college quarterback carried the ball just 20 times for 66 yards as a rookie in 2013, but he would have his best season the following year in 2014.
Starting a career-high nine games in 2014, Robinson carried the ball 135 times for 582 yards (4.3 yards per carry) and four touchdowns. He also caught 23 passes for 124 yards, often serving as Jacksonville's change of pace running back.
Robinson started only four games over the following two seasons, scoring one touchdown and rushing for 310 yards on 108 carries.
In 55 career games with the Jaguars, Robinson recorded 263 carries for 1,058 yards (4.0 yards per carry) and five touchdowns, along with 47 catches and 310 receiving yards.
The Big Ten offensive player of the year in 2010, Robinson worked on the Jacksonville University coaching staff in 2019 as an offensive analyst and a special teams assistant.
Tony Gilbert, a former Georgia Bulldog, was drafted in 2003 by the Arizona Cardinals. In 2003, he was signed off the Cardinals practice squad by the Jaguars and he played in Jacksonville for four years. In 2010, he was resigned by the Jags for a short month stint.
Since 2011, Gilbert has been coaching in the college ranks, starting at Georgia before moving on to Auburn, East Mississippi Community College (Last Chance U) and several more. His latest gig has been with University of Central Florida where he has been a defensive quality control assistant since 2018. This will be his first coaching job in the NFL.
