GIBBS, Joe Jackson

(b. 25 November 1940 in Mocksville, North Carolina), head coach of the Washington Redskins football team from 1981 to 1993 who brought that team to 140 victories in twelve years, including three Super Bowl championships.

Born in Mocksville, North Carolina, Gibbs was one of two children born to J. C. and Winnie Gibbs. Gibbs's father was employed in various capacities as an officer of the peace, including as a sheriff's deputy, until he eventually moved the family to Santa Fe Springs, California, and thereafter worked in a bank. Gibbs's mother worked for the telephone company. As the family moved, Gibbs spent his early boyhood in Mocksville, Asheville, and Sand Hill, North Carolina, where he enjoyed basketball, hunting, and football. Later, in California, he attended Santa Fe Springs High School and then Cerritos Junior College in Norwalk, California, before enrolling at California State University in San Diego in 1961. At San Diego State he earned a B.S. degree in physical education in 1964 and an M.S. degree in 1966.

Gibbs's innate interest in sports was evident throughout his college career. As an undergraduate at San Diego State he played tight end, linebacker, and guard for the Aztecs under coach Don Coryell. Gibbs later served as a graduate assistant, coaching the offensive line for Coryell from 1964 to 1966. In 1967 and 1968, Gibbs served as the offensive line coach for the Florida State Seminoles, and there he focused on a pass-oriented offense that contributed to that team's 15–4–2 record during those years. At the University of Southern California (USC)—again coaching the offensive line—Gibbs worked under head coach John McKay and contributed to the Trojans' 15–4–1 record for the two-year period from 1969 to 1970. Gibbs then spent two additional years of college-level coaching as an assistant coach with the University of Arkansas Razorbacks in the 1971–1972 season before going to the National Football League (NFL) in 1973.

In his first position in the NFL, Gibbs was hired by Coryell to coach the offensive backfield of the St. Louis Cardinals. Gibbs left the Cardinals in 1977 with a 42–27–1 record, including two National Football Conference (NFC) Eastern Division titles. He then stepped into the role of offensive coordinator for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers under former USC coach McKay, but in 1979 Gibbs moved to San Diego as offensive coordinator for the Chargers—again under Coryell. Gibbs remained with the Chargers through 1980, and the team took Western Division American Football Conference (AFC) titles both years.

On 13 January 1981, after fifteen years of assistant coaching, Gibbs entered into a series of negotiations with Washington Redskins owner Jack Kent Cooke and emerged as the head coach of the Redskins, replacing Jack Pardee. Gibbs set off precariously, with no wins in his first five games. However, the team regrouped for a spectacular finale, completing the 1981 season with a 27–17 victory against the Miami Dolphins in Super Bowl XVII. The Super Bowl win proved in retrospect to be not only the culmination of a championship season but also a prologue to eleven winning seasons during Gibbs's twelve-year tenure as Washington's head coach. The Redskins took the NFC Eastern Division Title for three consecutive years from 1982 to 1984, including NFC titles in 1982 and 1983, and Gibbs received Associated Press Coach of the Year honors for those same two years. Although Gibbs's team set a record for most points scored during a season (541) during the regular 1983 season, the Redskins failed to capture a second consecutive championship, losing to the Los Angeles Raiders in Super Bowl XVIII in January 1984.

Gibbs, a quiet-spoken yet hard-working and dedicated head coach, had by 1986 established his abilities in achieving four consecutive seasons of ten victories each. He added subsequent NFL championships, beginning in 1988 with a 42–10 win against the Denver Broncos in Super Bowl XXII, and again in 1992 against the Buffalo Bills. Sporting News cited Gibbs as Coach of the Year after the 1991 season. With the Redskins' 37–24 victory against the Bills in Super Bowl XXVI in 1992, Gibbs became one of only three NFL coaches to win three Super Bowls. Observers credited Gibbs generously because he overcame the disadvantage of persistent player turnover during the course of his coaching career with the Washington, D.C., team. Most notably, Gibbs generated his Super Bowl triumphs using a succession of different quarterbacks, beginning with Joe Theismann in 1982, Doug Williams in 1988, and Mark Rypien in 1992.

In the heyday of his winning leadership, Gibbs stunned the sporting public on 5 March 1993 by announcing his resignation as head coach of the Washington Redskins. Disregarding the two years remaining on his contract—which were valued at an estimated $2.5 million—Gibbs cited his desire to spend more time with his wife, the former Pat Escobar, and two sons. Gibbs's assistant, Richie Petitbon, stepped in as a replacement head coach. In retirement Gibbs turned his interest to a second career in NASCAR Winston Cup racing, purchasing a NASCAR team in August 1991 and founding Joe Gibbs Racing.

In 1991 Gibbs penned an autobiography with Jerry Jenkins. In his book Gibbs spoke out with brutal honesty regarding his financial failings, his born-again Christian faith, and other personal matters. Hard-working and forthright, Gibbs showed that he could coach without being histrionic or using profanity. He was named to the Pro Football Hall of Fame in Canton, Ohio, on 26 January 1996.

Gibbs's autobiography, written with Jerry Jenkins, is Joe Gibbs: Fourth and One (1991). Gibbs is featured in New York Times BiographicalService, vols. 14 (1983) and 15 (1984). See also David L. Porter, ed., Biographical Dictionary of American Sports: Football (1987), and Current Biography Yearbook, 53d Annual (1992). A brief, but insightful, critique appeared on the occasion of his retirement, in Sports Illustrated (15 Mar. 1993).

Gloria Cooksey