Missouri hires former Texas Tech DC David Gibbs

Only a few days ago, Missouri fans were wondering where the defense was headed after outside linebackers coach Brian Odom was hired away by the Oklahoma Sooners.

A mid-afternoon news dump on Thursday may provide some answers.

Gibbs joins the Tigers after spending four seasons as the defensive coordinator for Kliff Kingsbury at Texas Tech University. He also has multiple years’ experience in the NFL, as well as one season as an SEC defensive coordinator. Gibbs was Auburn’s DC in 2005, and his unit led the SEC in sacks and placed sixth in the country in scoring defense.

Based on Gibbs’ coaching history, we may see him take over coaching defensive backs. He coached the position for the Kansas City Chiefs and Houston Texans in the NFL, as well as for the Virginia Destroyers in the United Football League. If Missouri goes that route, Ryan Walters could focus just on his defensive coordinator duties and Vernon Hargreaves (inside linebackers) may handle the entire linebacker unit.

The major concern (which has already been raised by several Twitter users) is that Kingsbury was fired from Texas Tech for his teams’ routinely poor defenses. Obviously, Gibbs had a major hand in that lack of success. However, Gibbs has a long track record in positional coaching — you don’t spend five seasons in the NFL if you’re no good.

We’ve also seen Barry Odom make head-scratching hires that turn out to be major successes — look no further than Derek Dooley. There’s no reason to think Gibbs’ hiring will turn out any different.

Welcome, Coach Gibbs!