Shawn Gibbs lands first head coaching job

Former Owen High School star hired to lead Fort Valley State University

Fred McCormick
The Valley Echo
February 23, 2022

Shawn Gibbs, who graduated Owen High School in 1993 as the Warhorses’ all-time leading rusher, was introduced as the head coach of the Fort Valley State University Wildcats, Feb. 10. Photo courtesy of Fort Valley State University Athletics

Throughout his football career at Owen High School, Shawn Gibbs had a remarkable talent for making moves that resulted in big gains. His knack for finding a lane to create big plays continued at the collegiate level, and again throughout his coaching career.

If his latest change of direction follows the same trend, Fort Valley State University put its football program in scoring position with the Feb. 10 introduction of its first-year head coach. 

Gibbs was the all-time leading rusher in Owen football history, with 4,655 yards, when he graduated in 1992. He would go on to run for 1,687 yards at N.C. Central University, where the back led the Eagles in scoring in 1996 and 1997. That experience on the field was valuable in 2002, when he began his 20-year coaching career in a volunteer role at N.C. A&T. 

Success came early for Gibbs when he returned to his alma mater to coach running backs on head coach Rod Broadway’s staff in 2003. The Eagles would go on to finish first in the Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association from 2004 - 2006, as Greg Pruitt, Jr. became the all-time leading rusher at N.C. Central. Coaching the running back, who was inducted into the college’s athletics hall of fame in 2014, taught Gibbs an important lesson early in his career. 

“The one thing you have to do, especially when coaching a natural position like running back, is learn how to stay out of their way,” Gibbs said. “Sometimes people have a tendency to over-coach, and that can limit a guy’s ability. When you’ve got a guy that can play, you let him play.”

His coaching journey would take him to Grambling State University in 2007, as he remained on Broadway’s staff. The group led the Tigers to an 8-4 record and Southwestern Athletic Conference championship in its first season 

“That experience was great because it really got me out of my comfort zone,” Gibbs said. “I’d spent my whole life in N.C. up to that point, and going all the way to Louisiana knowing nobody but the other coaches was really different for me. It really helped me grow as a coach.”

His ability to teach the position to talented young athletes was quickly put to the test in Grambling, where the Tigers would play in two conference championships, winning one, while Gibbs was on the staff. 

“My first year we were going into the season with two senior running backs and four freshmen. Our two seniors ended up quitting,” Gibbs said. “We went into that season with all true freshmen at running back, and they did an amazing job of learning what to do and performing at a high level. Frank (Warren) ended up being named the SWAC Freshman of the Year that season.”

A reluctant Gibbs would return to his home state after the 2010 season, making his way back to where his coaching career began, when Broadway took over the N.C. A&T program. Gibbs wasted no time leaving his mark on the program. 

“I wasn’t really a fan of the move at the time,” he said. “We left a team that was 9-2 with a freshman quarterback to come to N.C. and take over a team that was 1-10.” 

The staff, however, was united by a single goal when taking over the Aggies program. 

“We needed to change the culture back into a winning one,” Gibbs said. “Fortunately, I inherited a really good running back when I got there.”

Mike Mayhew, who was named the co-MEAC Player of the Year in 2011, was the first of many running backs who would top the 1,000-yard mark under the guidance of Gibbs. Mayhew finished his career as the all-time leading rusher in Aggies history, but the record books became fluid as running backs flourished under Gibbs in Greensboro. 

The backfield was bolstered in 2013 when the Aggies “lucked up” on a speedy back from Bunn. 

“I say we were lucky to find Tarik Cohen because nobody in the world, besides Tarik, knew he was going to do what he did,” Gibbs said. “That was another blessing for me as a coach, because I was able to see him have the best career in the history of the conference, one of the best careers in the history of Black College Football and the FCS.”

Cohen was a three-time All-MEAC selection in his career with the Aggies, eclipsing the 1,000-yard mark in his freshman and sophomore seasons and topping the 1,500-yard mark as a junior and senior. His 5,619 career rushing yards established records for the N.C. A&T program and the MEAC, as he led the team to conference championships in 2014 and 2015. Cohen, who was the first winner of the Deacon Jones Award, also became the first player from the Aggies in over a decade to be selected in the NFL Draft. 

While Cohen embarked on his professional career with the Chicago Bears, Gibbs quickly returned his focus to the Aggies backfield.

“After Tarik, everybody thought we were going to be done, but we weren’t,” he said. “We had Marquell Cartwright, who we recruited out of High Point. He was Tarik’s backup, and we knew he was going to be good when given the opportunity.”

Cartwright's transition into the starting role was a smooth one, under the guidance of Gibbs, as he led the MEAC in rushing with 1,190 yards and helped lead the Aggies to a 12-0 record in 2017. 

Another runner, Jah-Maine Martin, would carry on the tradition of success on the ground in 2019, when the back broke Aggies records for rushing touchdowns, total touchdowns and average yards per carry. 

As Gibbs moves into his new role as head coach of the Wildcats, his resumé at N.C. A&T includes four MEAC championships and a 1,000-yard rusher in 10 of 11 seasons. While his experience as a position and assistant coach and coordinator of recruiting and special teams will provide him the tools to build the foundation for his new program, he will lean on the decades of knowledge he’s collected on the sidelines. 

“As I look back, I’ve worked with seven or eight other guys who have gone on to become head coaches,” Gibbs said. “I’ve also had the opportunity to observe two legendary coaches, and learn how they work. That’s allowed me to watch how all of these guys operate, and take bits and pieces of what they do and try to make it my own.”

A key component to his approach will focus on cultivating strong relationships within the FVSU program. 

“That’s the most important thing,” Gibbs said. “Getting guys to trust in your vision and trust that you have their best interest at heart is such a big part of a healthy culture. What I’d like to do as a head coach is become a person who the coaches and players know has their best interest at heart, and can trust to do anything in my power to put them in a position to be successful.”

Gibbs takes over a Wildcats team that posted a 5-5 record in 2021 while finishing fourth in the Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference East Division. 

“This is a really good conference, and we’re in a really tough division, but I’m looking forward to competing in year one,” he said. “The reason you play the game is to win, and our goal will be to win every game. But, our focus will be on doing the things that it takes to win.”