1st and 10 — Interview Series

1st and 10: Derrick Gibson

A Miami Killian All-American who played safety at Florida State and went in the first round to the Raiders. Ten years running the Miami Central defense, then a first head job that took his alma mater to a state semifinal. Back at Central now as head coach.

September 1, 2026 · Miami, FL

Derrick Gibson with players at a Florida Atlantic practice

Derrick Gibson is the head coach at Miami Central Senior High School, the program where he spent ten seasons running the defense before taking the top job in February 2025. A Miami native, Gibson played four years of varsity football at Miami Killian and was named a USA Today All-American. At Florida State he was a three-year starter under defensive coordinator Mickey Andrews, won a national championship in 1999, and earned All-ACC honors in 1999 and 2000. The Oakland Raiders took him in the first round of the 2001 NFL Draft, 28th overall, and he played his whole career there: six seasons, 69 games, and a trip to Super Bowl XXXVII. After he stopped playing, Gibson started working out at Miami Northwestern, found himself mentoring the young defensive backs, and never left the sideline. He was Central's defensive coordinator and defensive backs coach from 2009 to 2019, a stretch in which the Rockets went 117-18 and won five state championships. His first head coaching job was at his alma mater, Killian, where he went 26-6 in three seasons and took the 2021 team to a state semifinal. He coached safeties at Florida Atlantic from 2022 to 2024 before coming home to Central, where his first season ended 10-2 with a district title.

Q1Take us back to the moment you knew coaching was what you wanted to do. What was it?

It was when I was telling myself I'd try to play in the league one more year. I started working out at a high school, Miami Northwestern, and I was just around the team, helping the young DBs out and mentoring them.

I could see I was making a difference with the time I spent, a big difference with the guys I was working with. I was helping them live the dream I had lived. That's when I felt like I could start coaching.

Q2If you had to sum up your coaching philosophy in one sentence, what's that sentence?

I'm a coach who's been there, done that. Simple.

Whatever you're trying to do, I've done it. Wherever you're trying to go, I've been. So do it my way, and you might make it where I've been.

Q3Who's had the biggest impact on how you've approached your role as a coach?

I'm going back to my college coach, Mickey Andrews.

He was a hard-nosed coach. He'd tear you down, but he made sure he built you back up. He'd make you second-guess playing the game of football, and then the closer you got to the game, he'd make you the best player in the country. Being a coach myself now, I understand what he was trying to do.

Q4What's the win, season, or single moment that still gives you chills when you think about it?

That goes back to my first head coaching job. We went undefeated in the regular season, 10-0, and ended up 12-1 that year.

I took a program that had been down for years and brought them back to a state semifinal. It was my alma mater, so I felt real proud of what we accomplished that year.

Q5What's a mistake from early in your career that shaped your approach?

One thing I realized being a head coach is that it's going to be my way or no way. If I'm going to get fired, I'm going to get fired my way, not somebody else's way.

I learned that early in my career. Everything I do is the way I want it.

Q6How do you build a locker room that players don't want to leave?

A brotherhood. You try to create a brotherhood, a family atmosphere, and you want to make it feel like home. When you're home, you never leave the house. So that's what you're trying to make it feel like.

Q7What's a tradition, drill, or pre-game ritual of yours that's non-negotiable?

In my head, I go through every scenario. Good, bad, or indifferent, I play it through so I can be on point if it happens in the game.

I do that about an hour before the game, right after I eat my pregame meal. I start going through scenarios: if I'm down and I've got this timeout, what do I do? I create the scenarios in my head and I try to play the game before I play it, to be honest with you.

Q8Beyond Xs and Os, what do you most want your players carrying with them when they leave you?

A high school diploma. And eventually, when they get to college, a college degree.

Not everybody is fortunate enough to get to the NFL. I just want to make sure these guys are fortunate enough to get a head start in life by getting a free education.

Q9What's a key part of coaching that nobody sees?

Nobody sees what you have to do Monday through Thursday to get to Friday. Dealing with the administration, the athletic director, your AP, the parents. Nobody sees all that.

They just see the result on the field on Friday nights. Nobody sees what it takes to get to that day.

Q10What advice would you give a coach who just landed their first coaching job?

It's going to be a roller coaster, ups and downs. But if you keep a positive attitude every day, you should come out successful.

1st and 10 is a Playside interview series. Every coach gets the same 10 questions. The answers speak for themselves.