Claude Gilbert | |
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Sport(s) | Football |
Biographical details | |
Alma mater | San Jose State University |
Playing career | |
1957–1958 | San Jose State |
Coaching career (HC unless noted) | |
1973–1980 1981–1983 1984–1989 1991–1992 |
San Diego State San Jose State (DC) San Jose State Frankfurt Galaxy (DC) |
Head coaching record | |
Statistics | |
College Football Data Warehouse |
Claude Gilbert (born 1936) was an American football coach.
After serving as assistant to San Diego State coach Don Coryell for six seasons, Gilbert succeeded him as the Aztecs' head coach in 1973. He compiled a 61-26-2 record and won three conference titles, ranking second in Aztec victories and winning percentage only to Coryell. They finished 10-1 in both 1976 and 1977. 1977 also saw the Aztecs crush Bobby Bowden's Florida State team 41–16, and finish ranked 16th in the nation.[1] During a transition from relying on junior college transfers to recruiting high school students, the Aztecs went 4–8 in 1980 and fired Gilbert in a controversial move.
Gilbert later became head coach at his alma mater, San Jose State, from 1985 to 1989. He compiled a 38-30-1 record with the Spartans, including a pair of consecutive 10–2 seasons in 1986 and 1987. Gilbert was fired from San Jose State following the 1989 season, for the same reason that San Diego State let him go. He won a wrongful termination suit against San Jose State in 1992.
Gilbert returned to San Diego State as defensive coordinator under Ted Tollner in 1995, and oversaw consecutive eight-win seasons, the last time as of 2008 that the Aztecs have won that many games.
Gilbert was inducted into the Aztec Hall of Fame in 2004, and into the Spartan Stadium Ring of Honor in 2006.
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