University of California Athletics

Sterlin Gilbert in his first season as the passing game coordinator and quarterbacks coach in 2024.

Gilbert has led some of the nation's top offenses during a coaching career that has spanned two decades including stints over the last nine seasons as the offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach on the FBS level at Tulsa (2015), Texas (2016), South Florida (2017-18) and Syracuse (2020-21).

In his single season at Texas in 2016, Gilbert was the architect of a run game that featured first-team All-American, Doak Walker Award and Big 12 Offensive Player of the Year Award winner D'Onta Foreman, who led the nation in rushing yards per game (184.4) and was second in total rushing yards (2,028).

Gilbert moved to South Florida the following campaign and his offense ranked in the top 25 in eight NCAA statistical categories on the way to a 10-2 overall record and a No. 21 ranking in the final AP Top 25. The Bulls broke the school record for total offense (513.0 ypg, No. 6 NCAA) and fewest turnovers (14), among others, while totaling the second-most total yards in school history (6,156).

At Syracuse, his 2021 offense led the ACC and ranked No. 16 nationally in rushing yards per game (213.5) with Sean Tucker ranking fourth in the nation in rushing yards per game (124.7). Tucker's 1,496 total rushing yards broke a 42-year-old single-season school record.

In addition, Gilbert coached NFL quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo for two campaigns as the offensive coordinator/quarterbacks coach at Eastern Illinois (2012-13) to highlight his FCS coaching career, was the head coach for one season at McNeese State (2019) and has spent the 2023 campaign as a senior analyst with an Ole Miss team that is currently ranked No. 11 nationally and preparing for a New Year's Six matchup with No. 10 Penn State at the Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl.

In his first 12 campaigns of coaching at the collegiate level, Gilbert's teams have advanced to the postseason eight times.

"Sterlin has a wealth of quality collegiate coaching experience," Travers Family Head Football Coach Justin Wilcox said when Gilibert was hired on Dec. 12, 2023. "He has consistently produced elite offenses and developed excellent quarterbacks, and we are looking forward to him doing the same for our passing game and quarterback room."

"Coach Wilcox has assembled a tremendous coaching staff and has Cal football headed in the right direction," Gilbert said. "I'm excited to become a member of this staff and looking forward to all of the great things we can accomplish together."

Before joining the collegiate ranks, Gilbert coached at four different high schools in Texas (2003-04 Springtown; 2006-07 Cooper; 2008-10 Lake View; 2011 Temple) and also spent one season as a graduate assistant for offense on the collegiate level at Houston in 2005 when recently elevated Cal offensive coordinator/offensive line coach Mike Bloesch was a player on the Cougars' offensive line. The duo also worked together in 2011 at Temple High School and again in 2015 when Bloesch was on Gilbert's offensive staff at Tulsa in quality control with the tight ends position group.

COACHING CAREER
Ole Miss – Senior Analyst (2023)
– Team finished regular season 10-2 overall  and ranked No. 11 in all major national polls
– Selected to play Penn State in a New Year’s Six Bowl in the Chick-Fil-A Peach Bowl on Dec. 30 in Atlanta
– Rebels feature the nation’s No. 15 total offense (455.4 ypg) and No. 19 scoring offense (34.8 ppg) heading into bowl season

Syracuse – Offensive Coordinator/Quarterbacks (2020-21)
– Guided a rushing attack that led the ACC and ranked No. 16 nationally in 2021 (213.5 ypg) featuring first-team All-American and All-ACC running back Sean Tucker (also a Doak Walker Award and Maxwell Award semifinalist), who finished fourth in the nation in rushing yards per game (124.7 ypg) while his 1,496 total rushing yards broke a Syracuse single-season record that had stood for 42 years
– Also coached quarterback Garrett Shrader, who added 781 rushing yards and 14 touchdowns on the ground in 2021, both the second-highest totals ever by an Orange quarterback, with his rushing touchdowns second in the nation and tied for 19th nationally overall
– Wide receiver Taj Harris was a third-team All-Atlantic Coast Conference selection while playing for Gilbert in 2020 when he compiled season totals of 58 receptions, 733 yards receiving and five touchdown catches
– Coached a pair of players who would later go on to play in the NFL in Tucker and OL Matthew Bergeron, a fourth-round pick of Atlanta in 2023, with Tucker latching on as an undrafted NFL free agent with Tampa Bay in 2023
 
McNeese State – Head Coach (2019)
– Led FCS team to a 7-5 overall mark and a 5-4 record in the Southland Conference including five wins in its final seven games after a 2-3 start
– Coached a pair of first-team All-Southern Conference selections on the defensive side of the ball in DL Chris Livings and DB Darion Dunn with Livings the league’s Defensive Player of Year, as well as a pair of second-team all-league picks on offense in OL Grant Burguillos and WR Cyron Sutton, and a third-teamer in RB Justin Pratt among seven selections
 
South Florida – Offensive Coordinator/Quarterbacks (2017-18)
– Averaged 31.5 points, 444.2 total yards, 202.5 rushing yards and 241.7 passing yards per game en route to a 7-5 record and a spot opposite Marshall in the 2018 Gasparilla Bowl
– Squad ranked in the top 25 nationally in eight NCAA statistical categories in 2017 on its way to a 10-2 record a Birmingham Bowl victory over Texas Tech and a No. 21 ranking in the final AP Top 25 during a season in which the Bulls broke school records for total offense (513.0 ypg, No. 6 NCAA), first downs (309, No. 17T NCAA) and fewest turnovers (14), while totaling the second-most total yards in school history (6,156)
– Coached four offensive players to All-American Athletic Conference honors in 2017 including second-team quarterback Quinton Flowers, who ranked in the top 30 in six NCAA statistical categories including ninth in total offense (332.4 ypg) and 27th in passing touchdowns with a USF single-season record 27, while also tying a school single-season record with 2,911 passing yards, rushing for 1,078 yards and accounting for 36 total touchdowns
– Wide receiver Marquez Valdes-Scantling also set a USF single-season record with 879 receiving yards in 2017
– Coached three players who are on active NFL rosters in Jacksonville RB D’Ernest Johnson and Kansas City WR Valdez-Scanting, while QB Chris Oladokun is on the Chiefs’ practice squad
 
Texas – Offensive Coordinator/Quarterbacks (2016)
– Led an offense that ranked second in the Big 12 and 17th nationally in rushing yards per game (293.3 ypg), as well as 12th nationally in total offense (491.3 ypg) and was keyed by the play of first-team All-American, Doak Walker Award winner and Big 12 Offensive Player of the Year D'Onta Foreman, who led the nation in rushing yards per game (184.4 ypg) while rushing for 100 or more yards in all 11 games he played, ranking second nationally in total rushing yards (2,028 yards) and third in all-purpose yards (191.18 ypg)
– Mentored freshman quarterback Shane Buechele to honorable mention recognition for the Big 12 Offensive Freshman of the Year award
– Coached 10 players who were eventually on active NFL rosters including six that are currently active in Houston FB Andrew Beck, WR Devin Duvernay, Chicago RB Foreman, Denver WR Lil’Jordan Humphrey, WR Collin Johnson and Miami C Connor Williams, as well as four that were previously on active NFL rosters (G Kent Perkins, WR Collin Johnson, WR Marcus Johnson, QB Tyrone Swoopes) and two currently on practice squads in Buffalo (QB Shane Buechele) and Chicago (Collin Johnson)
 
Tulsa – Offensive Coordinator/Quarterbacks (2015)
– Helped his squad to an appearance at the Camping World Independence Bowl by co-coordinating an offense that ranked 11th in the nation in passing (333.2 ypg), 13th in total offense (507.4 ypg) and 21st in scoring (37.2 ppg) behind first-team All-American Athletic Conference wide receiver Keyarris Garrett, who ranked second in the country in receiving yards (1,451) and receiving yards per game (120.9 ypg), as well as tied for ninth in receptions (88), while quarterback Dane Evans was seventh in the country in passing (329.8 ypg) and 25th in efficiency (151.3)
 
Bowling Green State – Co-Offensive Coordinator/Quarterbacks (2014)
– Helped the offense rank 41st nationally in total offense (432.9 ypg) for a team that finished 8-6, reached the MAC Championship Game and beat South Alabama in the Camellia Bowl
– Mentored James Knapke, who started the season as the backup quarterback, to 3,173 passing yards, the seventh-best mark in program history, despite his only having 10 previous collegiate passing attempts, while wide receiver Roger Lewis recorded 1,093 receiving yards and earned first-team All-MAC honors before eventually going on to play two NFL seasons with the New York Giants in 2016-17
 
Eastern Illinois – Offensive Coordinator/Quarterbacks (2012-13)
– Named 2013 FootballScoop FCS Coordinator of the Year for a 12-2 squad that won the Ohio Valley Conference Championship and led the nation in total offense (589.5 ypg) and scoring (48.2 ppg), while ranking second in passing offense (372.4 ypg) and 20th in rushing offense (217.1 ypg)
– Coached five first-team and eight overall All-OVC players on offense in 2013 including Walter Payton Award winner and Ohio Valley Conference Player of the Year Jimmy Garoppolo who led the nation and ranked second in FCS single-season history with 5,050 passing yards, while also ranking second in the nation and fourth in FCS history with 53 passing TDs
– In two seasons helped Garoppolo pass for 8,873 yards and 84 TDs on his way to finishing his career seventh in FCS history with 13,156 passing yards and sixth with 118 passing TDs before going on to become a second-round choice by New England in the 2014 NFL Draft and currently with Las Vegas in his 10th NFL season
– Also coached wide receivers Erik Lora and Adam Drake with Lora a two-time consensus first-team All-American in 2012 and 2013 and both going on to sign free agent contracts with NFL teams
– Directed an offense that ranked sixth in the nation in passing (334.9 ypg), seventh in total offense (470.9 ypg) and eighth in scoring (36.5 ppg) in his first season for a 7-5 squad in 2012 with the offensive setting several school single-season records, including touchdown passes (34) and again being led by Garoppolo, who was seventh in the nation in total offense, 318.5 ypg) and OVC Offensive Player of the Year Lora (FCS record 136 receptions and nation-leading 1,664 receiving yards (sixth all-time in FCS)

PLAYING CAREER
Angelo State, Quarterback (1997-2001)
– Three-year starter and two-year captain quarterback who led the Rams to back-to-back Lone Star Conference South Division titles in his final two seasons as a 2000 junior and 2021 senior while finishing his career fourth all-time at the school in total yardage

YEAR-BY-YEAR COACHING POSITIONS
Season: Team – Position (Postseason, Notes)
2003: Springtown HS (Springtown, TX) – Running Backs
2004: Springtown HS (Springtown, TX) – Quarterbacks
2005: Houston – Graduate Assistant (Fort Worth Bowl)
2006: Cooper HS (Abilene, TX) – Offensive Coordinator/Quarterbacks
2007: Cooper HS (Abilene, TX) – Offensive Coordinator/Quarterbacks (Texas 5A Playoffs First Round)
2008: Lake View HS (San Angelo, TX) – Head Coach (Texas 4A Playoffs Second Round, West Texas High School Coach Of The Year)
2009: Lake View HS (San Angelo, TX) – Head Coach
2010: Lake View HS (San Angelo, TX) – Head Coach
2011: Temple High School (Temple, TX) – Offensive Coordinator/Offensive Line (5A Division II Playoffs First Round)
2012: Eastern Illinois – Offensive Coordinator/Quarterbacks (Ohio Valley Conference Champions, FCS Playoffs First Round)
2013: Eastern Illinois – Offensive Coordinator/Quarterbacks (Ohio Valley Conference Champions, FCS Playoffs Quarterfinals)
2014: Bowling Green State – Offensive Coordinator/Quarterbacks (Camellia Bowl)
2015: Tulsa – Offensive Coordinator/Quarterbacks (Independence Bowl)
2016: Texas – Offensive Coordinator/Quarterbacks
2017: South Florida – Offensive Coordinator/Quarterbacks (Birmingham Bowl)
2018: South Florida – Offensive Coordinator/Quarterbacks (Gasparilla Bowl)
2019: McNeese State – Head Coach
2020: Syracuse – Offensive Coordinator/Quarterbacks
2021: Syracuse – Offensive Coordinator/Quarterbacks
2023: Ole Miss – Offensive Analyst (Chick-Fil-A-Bowl)
2024: California – Passing Game Coordinator/Quarterbacks
 
FILE
Birthdate: August 11, 1978
Hometown: San Angelo, TX
High School: Lake View HS
College: Angelo State, 2002, Bachelor’s, Kinesiology

Last Updated
July 21, 2024