Joe Jackson Gibbs (born November 25, 1940) is an American former football coach who is an auto racing team owner. He served as the head coach of the Washington Redskins of the National Football League (NFL) from 1981 to 1992 and then 2004 to 2007, leading them to nine playoff appearances, four NFC Championship titles, and three Super Bowl wins over 16 seasons.
Gibbs is considered one of the most visionary offensive minds in NFL history due to his creation of multiple concepts, ability to plan and develop an attack according to the personnel of his roster, and address the needs to protect against defensive schemes, while doing so with what was is generally considered to be mostly average talent by NFL standards. Gibbs's success has led the Pro Football Hall of Fame to coin him as "the most gifted technician who could win with anyone, and was therefore perhaps the greatest strategist ever." He was named the NFL Coach of the Year in both 1982 and 1983. Gibbs remains the only head coach to win Super Bowls with three different starting quarterbacks, prompting Steve Sabol of NFL Films to call his first tenure as "the most diverse dynasty in NFL history equaled by no other head coach before or since". In 1992, he and his sons founded Joe Gibbs Racing, the NASCAR team that has since secured five NASCAR Cup Series championships.
Gibbs' championship legacy spans two distinctly different sports: three Super Bowls with three different quarterbacks in the NFL, none of whom are in the Hall of Fame, and five NASCAR championships featuring three different drivers and three different manufacturers. Having led eight top-level championships across American football and auto racing—each achieved with different key contributors, Gibbs is widely regarded as one of the greatest leaders in American professional sports history, regardless of the sport or personnel. The Pro Football Hall of Fame explicitly called Gibbs "the greatest multi-sport winner in American professional sports history", and commentators have described him as "arguably the greatest coach we've ever seen in American sports" due to his unmatched dual-sport championship legacy.
Gibbs was one of ten head coaches named to the NFL 100th Anniversary All-Time Team, and holds the unique distinction of being the only individual inducted into both the Pro Football Hall of Fame and the NASCAR Hall of Fame.
Early life and college Born in Mocksville, North Carolina, Gibbs is the older of two sons of Jackson Cephus Gibbs (1916–1989) and Winnie Era Blalock (1915–2000). He graduated from Santa Fe High School in 1959, where he played quarterback and was named All-San Gabriel League as a senior. In addition to football, Gibbs also lettered in basketball and baseball there. Gibbs attended Cerritos College before earning a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1964 and a master's degree in 1966 from San Diego State University.David Blevins, The Sports Hall of Fame Encyclopedia: Baseball, Basketball, Football, Hockey, Soccer, Volume 1, Rowman & Littlefield, USA, 2012, p. 351
Coaching career Early career Gibbs began his career in 1964 coaching offensive linemen under Don Coryell for the San Diego State Aztecs football team. He served two years each at Florida State, USC, and Arkansas. Gibbs then advanced to the National Football League, hired as the offensive backfield coach for the St. Louis Cardinals (1973–1977) by Coryell, who had been named head coach. After a season as offensive coordinator for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers (1978) under former USC coach John McKay, Gibbs rejoined Coryell with the San Diego Chargers in 1979.
Advocating for Black quarterbacks in the NFL While in Tampa, Gibbs developed the reputation as a leading pioneer for championing black quarterbacks in the NFL, which was considered extremely controversial and even potentially divisive at the time. After thoroughly studying Matt Cavanaugh, who led Pitt to a national championship, Guy Benjamin, an All-American from Stanford University, and Doug Williams from Grambling State University, Gibbs rated Williams as the best professional prospect, and informed head coach McKay that Williams would be "hands down and without question" the best quarterback in the 1978 NFL draft. According to Tony Dungy, "People don't realize that Joe Gibbs changed the face of the NFL by having the courage to say, in a Southern town at that time, that Doug Williams is the guy we should take. When Tampa drafted Doug, it shocked the whole country to take this unknown from Grambling over those star players from Pitt and Stanford. But that was Joe Gibbs. He was looking for the best player possible." With the recommendation of Gibbs, Tampa Bay selected Williams, and became the first African-American drafted in the first round to play quarterback.
In his book Rise of the Black QB, author Jason Reid cited an incident in the 1978 Tampa Bay training camp, in which quarterbacks coach Bill Nelsen began berating Williams in what was described as going beyond coaching and becoming a personal attack. Just a position coach at the time, Gibbs, who was at the opposite end of the field, threw his clipboard down, sprinted over to Nelsen and confronted him. "I think Coach Gibbs knew that it wasn't a matter of being coached hard," recalled Williams. "I mean, I played for Eddie Robinson at Grambling, so he knew I could handle that. But he (Gibbs) immediately sensed that something else was going on."Rise Of The Black QB Kevin Sheehan Show. August 4, 2022 Gibbs pointed his finger in Nelsen's face and said, "Don't you ever talk to him like that again! Is that clear?" According to Williams, Nelsen never confronted Williams in that manner again.Mike Piellucci. (August 17, 2022).'The Rise of the Black Quarterback' and the Men Who Forced a Signal Change in the NFL D Magazine
Gibbs dealt with a quarterback controversy throughout the 1987 season involving Williams and Jay Schroeder. Gibbs ultimately tabbed Williams to lead the team throughout the playoffs, which culminated in a Super Bowl victory. The speculation continued going into the 1988 season, when the Washington Post reported that Gibbs bluntly told Schroeder that Williams was his starter. While Schroeder was a Pro Bowl player two years earlier and the younger of the two, Gibbs sided with Williams, believing that Schroeder lacked the proper attitude to play. “I think Jay, right now, wants to be somewhere else and shouldn’t be playing quarterback for this team with his frame of mind,” Gibbs said. Gibbs also indicated at the time that if Schroeder was still a member of the team when the season began and Williams were to get injured, Schroeder would not be considered as a replacement under any circumstances.
The Architect of Air Coryell As offensive coordinator of the San Diego Chargers, Gibbs served under head coach Don Coryell and worked with the team's "Air Coryell" offense. During his two seasons in the position, quarterback Dan Fouts and the Chargers set several franchise and NFL offensive records, and the team ranked among the league leaders in passing offense.
Washington Redskins (1981–1992) After firing then-head coach Jack Pardee, Redskins owner Jack Kent Cooke was on the lookout for candidates. When general manager Bobby Beathard pointed out the 40-year-old San Diego assistant coach. Cooke, who famously quipped to Beathard, "Who the hell is Joe Gibbs?" was well-respected as an owner for having a keen eye for spotting leadership and an ability to teach (he also hired Jerry West and Sparky Anderson to their first managerial/executive jobs). Cooke flew Gibbs to New York City for an interview, and identified Gibbs' unshakable confidence, composure, and ability to articulate sophisticated concepts in a clear manner that was direct and coherent. Cooke was so impressed and convinced within 30 minutes of what was supposed to be a three-to-four hour process that he offered Gibbs their head coaching position immediately.
Gibbs' first season with the Redskins started inauspiciously when the team lost their first five games. Cooke famously expressed confidence in Gibbs, declaring that the team would finish 8–8. The losses and Cooke's confidence served as a catalyst, and the newly motivated team improved and reached an even 8–8 record in 1981.
Gibbs' second season with the Redskins, which was shortened by a players strike, saw them finish with an 8–1 regular-season record and defeat the Miami Dolphins 27–17 in Super Bowl XVII. In 1983, Gibbs' success continued with a 14–2 regular-season record and a win against the Los Angeles Rams 51–7 at home, in the divisional round of the playoffs. The Redskins once again won an NFC Championship, defeating the San Francisco 49ers 24–21 on a last-second field goal, advancing to Super Bowl XVIII. The Redskins were installed as a 2-point favorite by Nevada books going into the game, but were soundly defeated by the Los Angeles Raiders 38–9.
The 1984 Redskins won the NFC East with an 11–5 record and hosted a home playoff game against the Chicago Bears but lost 23–19.
Gibbs coached the 1985 Redskins to a 10–6 regular-season record and barely missed the playoffs. During the season Joe Theismann broke his leg during a Monday Night Football game against the New York Giants, but the Redskins still won the game with Jay Schroeder at quarterback.
In 1986, Gibbs coached the team to a 12–4 regular-season record and defeated the Los Angeles Rams 19–7 in the wild card playoffs, then upset the defending champion Chicago Bears 27–13 in the divisional round, on the road, to get back to the NFC Championship game against the New York Giants. The Giants would win 17–0. It was to be Gibbs' only NFC championship game loss.
The 1987 Redskins made the playoffs and again defeated the Chicago Bears 21–17 on the road in the divisional round, then beat the Minnesota Vikings 17–10 at home in the NFC Championship Game, then at Super Bowl XXII, they rode the arm of quarterback Doug Williams to blow out the Denver Broncos 42–10.
Four years later, the Redskins won their first 11 games before finishing the season 14–2, and cruised through the playoffs with home victories over the Atlanta Falcons (24–7) and Detroit Lions (41–10). In Super Bowl XXVI, the Redskins were up 24–0 on the Buffalo Bills just 16 seconds into the third quarter, and 37–10 with over 11 minutes to go when Gibbs pulled most of his starters. The Bills would score two cosmetic touchdowns for a final score of 37–24. The victory gave Gibbs and the team their third Super Bowl title.
Gibbs returned for the 1992 regular season to defend the Redskins' Super Bowl crown from the previous year. The Redskins finished with a lesser record at 9–7 and third place in the NFC East. They needed a bit of help to make the playoffs and they got it after a loss by the Green Bay Packers got them in as the last Wild Card entry. In the wild-card round, the Redskins defeated the Minnesota Vikings on the road, by the score of 24–7, however they would fall in the divisional round to the San Francisco 49ers in a road game by the score of 20–13, ending the Redskins' hopes of retaining their Super Bowl crown. Two months after Super Bowl XXVII, Gibbs retired on March 5, 1993, surprising many in the organization and around the league. Center Jeff Bostic called it "probably the biggest shock I've gotten in my life." A notorious workaholic, he had begun to suffer health problems, and he cited a desire to spend more time with his family.
From 1994 to 1997, Gibbs served as a color analyst on NBC Sports' NFL pregame show.
The Most Diverse Dynasty in NFL History