North Texas hires Chris Gilbert as AHC/TEs coach

New North Texas Mean Green head coach Eric Morris announced a handful of hires to his coaching staff in Denton on Wednesday, including the addition of Texas Longhorns Director of High School Relations Chris Gilbert, who will serve as the associate head coach/tight ends coach.

It’s the first on-field coaching role for Gilbert, who spent nearly two seasons on the Forty Acres serving as a key conduit to high school coaches in the Metroplex in addition to building relationships with recruits, especially during on-campus visits.

A graduate of South Oak Cliff in South Dallas, Gilbert had a long and successful history as a head coach in the Metroplex. After playing college football at Angelo State, Gilbert had stops as an assistant at Dallas Carter, Greenville, and Bryan before taking over at his alma mater in 2006. Gilbert was able to quickly turn around the South Oak Cliff program, going 9-3 in his third season.

Gilbert then went east to Terrell and continued his success with a nine-win season in 2009 before taking the job at Lancaster in 2010. The Tigers won nine games in 2011 for the first time since 1940 and then advanced to the state championship game in 2012 for the first time in school history on the back of a 14-win season.

A former member of the THSCA Region 3 Board of Directors, Gilbert went on to turn Lancaster into a consistent contender before helping the Longhorns reverse their recruiting fortunes in the Metroplex after a period of struggles under former head coach Tom Herman.

Now Sarkisian will need to make another savvy hire to replace Gilbert.