Report: Former Florida State star accepts in-state coaching job

Former Florida State Seminoles star defensive back Derrick Gibson has been hired by FAU as a safeties coach, according to ESPN’s Adam Rittenberg.

Gibson had been serving as the head coach at Miami Killian High School prior to his arrival at FAU. A former first-round NFL Draft selection, Gibson played five NFL seasons with the Oakland Raiders.

In five NFL seasons, Gibson, a safety, played in 69 games, while making 32 career starts. He amassed 196 total tackles across five seasons (161 solo stops), which included six tackles for a loss, and he notched three interceptions, 16 passes defended, one forced fumble and two fumble recoveries.

Gibson became a Florida State legend during his time in Tallahassee, as he was named an All-ACC second-team defensive back in 1999 and an All-ACC first-team defensive back in 2000. Additionally, he helped the Florid State Seminoles win the 1999 BCS National Championship. He finished his career at Florida State with 214 tackles, nine tackles for a loss, seven interceptions and 16 pass deflections, while playing in three BCS National Championship games.

Following his career in the NFL, his last season being the 2006 season, he quickly went into coaching.

“I always wanted to be a mentor. My goal in life is to help kids live the dream that I did, play major college football and play in the NFL. I know all of the kids won’t do that. But just help them try to achieve their dreams and aspirations,” Gibson said to UnconqueredMagazine in 2020, explaining his rationale for going into coaching. “Just seeing the kids prosper, seeing how you can change kids’ lives. … You can’t put a price tag on that. The way I changed that kid’s life, that’s the glory of coaching.”

Gibson will help fill the void by Lance Thompson, FAU’s former inside linebackers coach, who left Conference-USA to accept an assistant role at Maryland.

Gibson to replace Lance Thompson

Lance Thompson – a longtime college football assistant coach who’s held positions at many different schools, including a handful in the SEC – is now heading to Maryland to join the Terrapins’ coaching staff, according to ESPN college football insider Pete Thamel. Thompson is currently the inside linebackers coach at Florida Atlantic in Conference USA.

While Thompson, a Riverdale, Georgia native, spent the 2021 season at FAU, he also served on Will Muschamp’s staff at South Carolina for three seasons and worked under Gus Malzahn at Auburn in 2015. Additionally, Thompson has also held roles at Alabama, Tennessee, LSU, UCF and Georgia Tech throughout his coaching career.

An assistant coach with much familiarity in the SEC, Thompson will now transition into the Big Ten landscape for the 2022 season with a Maryland team that went 7-6 overall and 3-6 in league play last year.