Missouri entered Thursday with two assistant coach openings on its staff, one on each side of the ball. In the span of about an hour Thursday afternoon, head coach Barry Odom filled both.
Missouri announced that it has hired David Gibbs, who most recently served as the defensive coordinator at Texas Tech, as a defensive assistant. Gibbs' exact position and contract details have not been released, but it is believed he will take on a role in the secondary. Defensive coordinator Ryan Walters also coached both cornerbacks and safeties last season. The team also promoted Garrick McGee to a full-time offensive assistant coaching spot. McGee served as an offensive analyst last season. He could remain as the tight ends coach or could take over as wide receivers coach with A.J. Ofodile, a former all-Big Eight tight end, moving to work with that position.
Gibbs fills the spot left behind by Brian Odom, Missouri's former outside linebackers coach and Barry's younger brother who was officially hired by Oklahoma on Tuesday.
"I'm excited to have David join our staff," Barry Odom said in a release. "He's got an extensive track record of success in his career, and I'm confident he'll be a great addition to our athletic department, football program and defensive room. His history of coaching and coordinating at a high level speaks for itself, and I know our staff will take advantage of his experience in all areas."
"I'm very grateful and excited to be part of coach Odom's program," Gibbs said. "This is an outstanding opportunity for me and my family. I've known about Mizzou and Columbia for a long time, and I've got a ton of respect for coach Odom and the type of program he runs. I'm looking forward to getting going there and helping Mizzou continue to build upward."
McGee's promotion has been viewed as likely for several weeks, since former tight ends coach Joe Jon Finley left Missouri's staff for the same position at Texas A&M. McGee served as the interim tight ends coach in Finley's absence for the Liberty Bowl, but it's not yet known whether McGee will coach tight ends or whether he will coach another position, causing other offensive assistants to shuffle positions.
"This past year as part of coach Odom's staff showed me that I fit with his culture here at Mizzou, and I'm very appreciative of having the opportunity to continue to be part of it," McGee said in a release. "... I really enjoyed being part of coach (Derek) Dooley's staff this year, and was impressed with the chemistry and culture within the building. Having the chance to continue to work with the entire offensive staff and these young men is very exciting to me."
Both Gibbs and McGee have a wealth of past coaching experience. Gibbs spent the past four seasons as the defensive coordinator at Texas Tech, where he was let go this offseason after head coach Kliff Kingsbury was fired. Prior to that, Gibbs spent two seasons as the defensive coordinator at Houston under head coach Tom Herman. He has also served as the defensive coordinator for Auburn (in 2005) and Minnesota (1997-2000) during his career as a college coach. In the professional ranks, Gibbs spent four seasons as a defensive backs coach for the Denver Broncos, three seasons in that same role with the Kansas City Chiefs, and two years coaching the secondary of the Houston Texans.
In recent seasons, Gibbs' defenses have become known for forcing turnovers, an area in which Missouri has struggled at times. In 2013, his first season at the helm of Houston's defense, the Cougars forced 43 turnovers, which led the nation. The following season, Houston ranked No. 5 in takeaways with 30 and finished the season No. 11 nationally in scoring defense and No. 19 in total defense. Gibbs' 2017 defense at Texas Tech forced 26 takeaways, which tied for sixth nationally.
Odom recognized Gibbs' proclivity for taking the ball away from opposing offenses long before he became available to hire. At one point in August, prior to this season, Odom told reporters that he had reached out to Gibbs for advice on how to create more turnovers.
"David Gibbs, guy that’s the defensive coordinator at Texas Tech, when he was at Houston, one year they forced 36 turnovers, and I called, 'You guys share ideas?'" Odom said on August 10. "He said, 'Nah, we make an emphasis of it.' But I know there’s more to it than that. And then the next year he had something like 34. And then he goes to Texas Tech, and they’ve been in the top five of the country in forcing turnovers. So there’s ways and ideas that you get and you try to implement in your program, and we’ve taken so many of his thoughts on the approach and hopefully that helps us out.”
McGee served as the offensive coordinator at Illinois in 2016 and 2017, and prior to that was the offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach under Bobby Petrino at both Louisville (in 2014 and 2015) and Arkansas (2008-2011). Between his stints with Petrino, McGee served as the head coach at UAB in 2012 and 2013. He has also been the offensive coordinator at Northwestern and has worked as a position coach with Toledo, UNLV and the Jacksonville Jaguars.
With the addition of Gibbs and the promotion of McGee, Missouri's coaching staff is set for the 2019 season, barring any more departures.
