NC State defensive coordinator Tony Gibson was named head coach at Marshall on Sunday, shortly after Thundering Herd coach Charles Huff’s hiring was announced at Southern Miss.
Gibson, 52, will take his first head-coaching job in college and return to his home state, where he served two stints at West Virginia over the past two decades.
Gibson is getting a six-year contract, sources told ESPN’s Pete Thamel.
“We could not be happier to welcome Tony Gibson home as our 32nd head coach at Marshall University,” school president Brad Smith said in a statement. “Coach Gibson has led some of the top programs on the national level, but in the end, his heart desired to return to the mountains from which he came.”
Gibson’s hiring was announced less than an hour after Huff was named coach at Southern Miss. Huff coached Marshall to a 31-3 victory over Louisiana in the Sun Belt championship game on Saturday night. Marshall (10-3) won seven straight games for its first 10-win season since 2015.
Gibson coached defensive backs at West Virginia under Rich Rodriguez from 2001 to 2007. He returned in 2013 under Dana Holgorsen as safeties coach, then became defensive coordinator a year later and stayed until Holgorsen left at the end of the 2018 season. Gibson spent six seasons at NC State. He had other assistant coaching stints at Pittsburgh and under Rodriguez at Michigan and Arizona.
Gibson, who is from Van, West Virginia, graduated in 1994 from Glenville State, where he played defensive back.
“We have recruited a proven coach that aspires to be at Marshall and to sustain the success we have come to appreciate and expect,” athletic director Christian Spears said in the statement. “We can’t wait to get started with him and his staff.”
One of Gibson’s first tasks will be replenishing Marshall’s roster. The Thundering Herd signed only 11 recruits in the recent early signing period.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.