HUNTINGTON, W.Va. – The decision by the Athletic Administration at Marshall University to bring in Tony Gibson, the former defensive coordinator at NC State and WVU, as the Thundering Herd’s next head coach and let Charles Huff walk away, simply came down to one coach wanted to be at Marshall and the other did not.
Christian Spears, Marshall Athletics Director, confirmed on Metronews Talkline Huff pursued multiple job opportunities over the last three seasons and that negotiations for a contract extension at Marshall had concluded before the start of the 2024 season.
“Coach has been interviewing for gigs since day one of his opportunity here at Marshall,” Spears said. “When I started the job 33 months ago, he was in a couple of searches then. After the 2022 season, we had a spectacular year, won nine games, beat Notre Dame and we offered a contract extension then.”
After a disappointing 6-7 2023 season, rather than buy out the remaining year of Huff’s contract, Spears said the university chose to use the money that could have been used for the buyout to invest in the football program, growing the salary pool for the assistant coaches and providing breakfast and lunch for all Marshall athletes. The door was left open for a contract extension for Huff. Both sides agreed to meet during the season to discuss topics related to growing the program but agreed there would not be contract negotiations. Spears said that came with a caveat. Huff would not pursue other job openings in the meantime.
According to Spears, Huff entertained several offers during the 2024 season. Spears was aware of the other opportunities Huff had to coach elsewhere and knew for several weeks that Southern Miss was in the mix. Spears added Huff was completely transparent and never tried to hide the new opportunities.
“We had made an agreement that we would wait until the end of the season and we would focus on winning a championship and that’s where we remained,” Spears said.
“Coach [Huff] had a chance to get an opportunity that he felt really good about and we had an opportunity to go get someone who truly wants to be at Marshall.”
Of course, that someone is Tony Gibson. The Van, W.Va. native has extensive football ties in the state of West Virginia. Gibson was a member of two West Virginia Intercollegiate Athletic Conference championship teams at Glenville State. He served two stints on the coaching staff at West Virginia University (2001-2007 & 2013-2018). He has spent the last six seasons as the defensive coordinator and linebackers coach at North Carolina State. Gibson has also been an assistant at Michigan, Pittsburgh and Arizona.
His roots in the state, what Spears described as a sincere desire to be at Marshall and his blue-collar nature made Gibson the clear choice for the job.
“Tony is just a really special person,” said Spears. “This is a great way for us all to connect under someone who has this blue-collar, deep desire to be at Marshall and we’re thrilled that he is going to be our new head coach.
Gibson will be introduced at a press conference at 4:30 p.m. on Thursday, Dec. 12, in Encova Auditorium at the Brad D. Smith Center for Business and Innovation.
Herd Hitting The Transfer Portal
With the departure of former coach Charles Huff many key players on the Thundering Herd roster have entered the transfer portal, including starting quarterback Braylon Braxton and two other quarterbacks. The Herd will be without several key players when it plays against Army in the Independence Bowl on Dec. 28th. Spears understands it will be a different team than took the field for the SBC Title game but knows the players who remain will put their best effort forward for interim Coach Telly Lockette.
“We’re going to have some guys commit and be part of something unique. I’m confident we’ll have a great representation there. We’ll pull it together. This transfer portal is something everyone is dealing with now. That’s just the new modern-day college athletics enterprise.”