Gus Malzahn hiring Missouri assistant to join new UCF coaching staff
When Eli Drinkwitz took over in Columbia just over a year ago, he decided to retain three coaches from Barry Odom’s staff. Now all three of those assistant coaches are set to leave Missouri’s program after working with Drinkwitz for one season.
That’s because the lone remaining holdover on staff, secondary coach David Gibbs, is leaving Mizzou to join Gus Malzahn’s UCF staff.
News of Gibbs’ departure from Missouri is being reported by Bruce Feldman of The Athletic. Feldman is reporting that Gibbs is expected to be named co-defensive coordinator for Malzahn’s UCF program. Malzahn later confirmed the news.
Gibbs joins former Mizzou defensive coordinator Ryan Walters, who left for the same job at Illinois, and former Mizzou defensive line coach Brick Haley as defensive coaches to leave Drinkwitz’s program this offseason.
Following Walters’ departure, Drinkwitz hired former NFL coach Steve Wilks to serve as Missouri’s new defensive coordinator. The Tigers then replaced Haley with Jethro Franklin. Gibbs’ departure now clears the way for Drinkwitz to remake the Missouri defensive staff with a coach picked by Wilks before heading into spring practice.
Gibbs joined Missouri’s staff from Texas Tech, where he served as defensive coordinator for four seasons. He’s served a total of 11 seasons as a defensive coordinator in the college ranks.
Yeah there was little chance Gibbs was going to stick around after not getting the DC job.
Gibbs is good for sure, but I think coach Drinkwitz will find a good – if not better – replacement. I wouldn’t be surprised if he hadn’t already had someone in mind. I bet it turns out to be another recently unemployed NFL coach.
I’ve been following UCF for several years now. I think they’ve got a really good thing going.
I was somewhat amazed he lasted this long at Mizzou.
Gibbs is a good pickup for UCF and it’s an opportunity for him to once again show his ability to be the DC.
For whatever reason, Missouri’s defense, under Barry Odom, who was supposed to be strongest as a defensive Head Coach, never really became a defensive force to reckon with. Last year they couldn’t coach the most fundamental technical physical movements for defensive backs. Close doesn’t cut it. The feet and shoulders have to be precise and exact. Wilks has a big job to do. If he’s not a perfectionist at technical play, he’s going to have a hard time improving this staff. Wilks needs to shop the marketplace hard and bring top technical people in. Fitness and strength can be taught by anybody on the staff to every player on the roster but efficiency at practice demands that it gets taught at the same time the tactics and technical work is going on.
I like your observation about Odom as D mastermind, reminds me a lot of Pinkel who was supposed to be that kind of O coach but who really never managed much on that side but rather relied on his D-line coach to over produce. There is also a certain amount of luck to coaching, things like right place, right time, Pinkel definitely had his share while maybe Odom just didn’t.