Joe Gilbert enters his second season as offensive line coach with the Carolina Panthers. Gilbert brings 38 years of coaching experience to the Panthers, including 13 years of coaching in the NFL. He came to Carolina after spending five seasons (2019-2023) with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the same role.
In Gilbert's first season with the Panthers (2024), with the additions of guards Damien Lewis and Robert Hunt, the offensive line reduced their sack totals from 65.0 in 2023 - the third worst in the NFL - to 36.0 in 2024 - the fifth best. The unit also paved the way for running back Chuba Hubbard to rush for his first career 1,000-yard season. Hunt was named to his first career Pro Bowl under Gilbert's guidance.
In 2023, the Buccaneers' offensive line continued to succeed under Gilbert and ranked 10th in the league with a 70.7 Pro Football Focus (PFF) Team Pass Blocking Grade. After making the switch from right tackle to left tackle, Tristan Wirfs finished the season as the fifth-highest graded pass-blocking tackle by PFF (among players with at least 500 blocking snaps) and was named to his third Pro Bowl.
Gilbert helped the Buccaneers' 2022 offensive line withstand the loss of three starters from the season prior, while still maintaining the lowest sacks per pass attempt rate in the NFL (2.8 percent) and coaching tackle Tristan Wirfs to his second Pro Bowl selection in three seasons. The offensive line protected for the NFL's second-ranked passing offense as Tampa Bay amassed 269.8 passing yards per game.
In 2021, the Buccaneers continued to possess one of the league's top offensive line units, allowing a sack on just 3.1% of passing plays, which led the league. Behind its offensive line, Tampa Bay finished the regular season first in passing yards per game (307.6), second in points per game (30.1), second in total yards per game (405.9), second in third-down percentage (47.1) and third in yards per play (6.06). Three different Buccaneers offensive linemen were selected to the Pro Bowl for their efforts – center Ryan Jensen, guard Ali Marpet and Wirfs. Wirfs was also selected as a first-team All-Pro by the Associated Press in just his second NFL season.
Under the direction of Gilbert and assistant head coach/run game coordinator Harold Goodwin, the Buccaneers also possessed one of the NFL's top offensive lines in 2020, ranking second in sacks allowed per pass attempt (3.4%) and fourth in fewest sacks allowed (22.0). Tampa Bay did not allow a sack five times during the regular season – tied for the second-most by any team in 2020. The Buccaneers offensive line also paved the way for running back Ronald Jones II to set a single-season franchise record with his 5.1 rushing yards per attempt. As a team, Tampa Bay ranked third in the NFL in points scored per game (30.8), fourth in passing yards per game (298.5) and seventh in total offense (384.1) during the regular season.
In his rookie season (2020), Wirfs started all 16 games at right tackle for the Buccaneers, earning PFWA All-Rookie Team honors. He finished the season as one of just two right tackles to have played 750-or-more snaps while allowing one-or-fewer sacks and fewer than 10 quarterback hits, according to Pro Football Focus statistics.
Throughout Tampa Bay's four-game playoff run to a Super Bowl LV victory, the Buccaneers averaged 378.5 total yards per game and 122.5 rushing yards per contest, while allowing one sack or fewer in three of the team's four postseason games.
Gilbert guided an offensive line that aided the Buccaneers in leading the league in pass offense with 302.8 yards per game in 2019. Additionally, Tampa Bay ranked third in the NFL in total offense (397.9) and tied for third in points scored (28.6). Gilbert helped develop then second-year guard Alex Cappa, who started all 13 games that he was healthy for in 2019, after playing in six games with zero starts as a rookie.
Prior to joining the Buccaneers, Gilbert coached the offensive line at the University of Arizona in 2018, where his unit helped the Wildcats lead the Pac-12 in rushing, while allowing the fourth-fewest sacks in the conference.
A member of the Colts' coaching staff for six seasons (2012-17), Gilbert served as the offensive line coach (2013-15) and assistant offensive line coach (2012, 16-17). Between 2012-14, the line protected for three consecutive 11-win seasons, during which the Colts ranked eighth in the NFL in points scored and 10th in total offense over that span. In 2014, despite being forced to use 11 different offensive line starting lineup combinations, his unit helped Indianapolis set franchise records in net yards (6,506), and net passing yards (4,894), while scoring the second-most points (458) in team history.
Before joining the professional ranks, Gilbert spent the previous 25 seasons at the collegiate level, including stops at Albany (1987-88), Pennsylvania (1989-90), Northeastern (1991-93), Maine (1994-99), Mansfield University of Pennsylvania (2000), Toledo (2001-03, 2007), UCF (2004-06), Houston (2008) and Illinois (2009-11). Over that time, he was instrumental in the development of future NFL players such as Nick Kaczur (Toledo), Patrick Brown (UCF), Josh Sitton (UCF), Sebastian Vollmer (Houston), Jon Asamoah (Illinois), Mike Flynn (Maine) and Jeff Allen (Illinois).
A native of Horseheads, New York, Gilbert went on to have an All-American playing career at Hamilton College. He and his wife, Cheryl, have four children – one daughter, Madison, and three sons, Nicholas, Joseph and Timothy.
- 1987-88 | Albany - Graduate Assistant
- 1989-90 | Pennsylvania - Assistant Offensive Line/Recruiting Coordinator
- 1991-93 | Northeastern - Offensive Line/Recruiting Coordinator
- 1994-95 | Maine - Offensive Line
- 1996-99 | Maine - Offensive Coordinator
- 2000 | Mansfield (Pa) - Head Coach
- 2001-03 | Toledo - Offensive Line
- 2004-06 | Central Florida- Offensive Line
- 2007 | Toledo - Tight Ends
- 2008 | Houston - Offensive Line
- 2009 | Illinois - Offensive Line
- 2010-11 | Illinois- Assistant Head Coach/Offensive Line
- 2012 | Indianapolis Colts - Assistant Offensive Line
- 2013-15 | Indianapolis Colts - Offensive Line
- 2016-17 | Indianapolis Colts - Assistant Offensive Line
- 2018 | Arizona - Offensive Line
- 2019-23 | Tampa Bay Buccaneers - Offensive Line
- 2024- | Carolina Panthers - Offensive Line
