Q&A: Joe Gilbert excited for chance to coach Carolina O-line, reflects on success in Tampa

As he approaches four decades in coaching, Horseheads native Joe Gilbert is headed up the East Coast to coach the Carolina Panthers' offensive line.

Gilbert, 59, will join newly named head coach Dave Canales with the Panthers after they worked together last season with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, where Canales was offensive coordinator for the NFC South champions and Gilbert coached the offensive line for a fifth season. Joining them from the Bucs is Harold Goodwin, named Carolina's assistant head coach/run game coordinator.

This will be the third NFL team for Gilbert, a former Horseheads High standout and Division III All-American at offensive line for Hamilton College in Clinton. He coached six seasons with the Indianapolis Colts before coming to Tampa, which he helped to a Super Bowl victory in the 2020 season.

Gilbert is going on 38 years of coaching experience at the college and professional levels since starting as a graduate assistant at the University of Albany.

Gilbert and his wife, Cheryl, are the parents of four children: 23-year-old daughter Madison and sons Nick (20), Joe (18) and Tim (15).

With older brother George, a two-time United States Football League champion in the 1980s, seated next to him, Gilbert talked about his newest coaching venture.

Question: Your thoughts on coaching with the Panthers?

Answer: I’m excited. I’m really excited about going with Dave Canales, the head guy. Dave came in as our coordinator here this past year. Just his approach, his mentality, he’s so positive and obviously our players bought in. I think the thing that showed for me and the excitement I had to go for work for him was we had that rough patch in the middle of the season and he never wavered. His positivity coming into the office, the way he handled the players, never wavered. I truly believe that was one of the reasons why we got over the hump, Baker (Mayfield) started to perform for us, and really was why we turned things around. That was a big thing for me, why I was excited about following him up to Carolina.

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Q: How did this opportunity come about for you? Was it out of the blue?

A: It was out of the blue in the sense that Dave didn’t know my contract was up. At the time, the Bucs hadn’t done anything to renew us. There were discussions going on as far as trying to get us new contracts and when Dave found out, he went up, he interviewed and came back and said, ‘Hey, I’d like to bring you up there. Your contract’s up and I’d like to get something done.’ I said, ‘You know what, my contract is up shortly and I haven’t heard anything, so absolutely. I’m going to keep my ears open.' And he came through.

The one thing I’ll say is he said, listen, I’m going to try to do this for you and he did. That meant the world to me, especially only working for a guy for about a year that had belief in me and going to bat for me, that meant a lot.

Q: Does it help making this move with coaches you know?

A: It does because we’re going to carry the same offense, the same language, so the learning curve we already went through that a year ago. We’ll repeat everything for some of the new coaches that are involved, but otherwise that makes it a lot easier transition. The players have got to learn it new, but it’s not like we’re learning it new and then we’ve got to teach it to the players. So that part of it becomes a lot easier and also the familiarity with the schedule. Hey, this is going to be our weekly schedule during the season. You know when you’ve got to have things done, when you’re going to get together. That just makes the flow of the week so much easier. As a new staff this past year it took us a couple of weeks until we got into a groove as far as, hey, this is what you’re going to do on Mondays, Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Thursdays, Fridays, etc.

Q: What's the process for moving to a new team?

A: The first thing is you’re going to go in and evaluate the current players. I have no idea exactly what direction we would have going into the draft and free agency, but that’s the first thing is going in and evaluating the offensive line and saying, hey, here’s what we think of each guy. Do we think we’re good or do we have to get better? That’s the key at every position.

We’re going to go in and give our evaluation to Dan Morgan, the GM, and to Dave and ultimately it’s going to be their decision. Each position fights for their own, but at the end of the day the general manager and head coach have to say this is where we definitely need help, this is where we kind of need help and this is where it would be a luxury if we got this guy.

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Q: And the move from a family standpoint?

A: You’ve got to decide, are you selling the house, are you going to move the kids? The kids want to have a say whether they stay. We’ve got one going to Florida and my oldest son just finished playing high school football. He’s going to Florida State just to go to school. I have another son, Nick, is here at the University of Tampa. The youngest one, we have to talk with him about whether he stays or goes. He started on the varsity as a freshman at offensive line. What does he want to do? He’s got a lot of friends down here.

A lot goes into it. It’s hard. They’ve followed me, my family has gone everywhere. A little bit is leaning toward if we end up with me going up there, them staying here or me and them trying to go up and back as much as possible to leave a little more consistency for them. At this stage of the game, they’ve done it enough that we're kind of leaning that way to be honest with you.

Q: How challenging is that part of being a coach?

A: The move is the hard thing with your family. It’s harder as they get older. It’s a lot easier when they’re young, they’re a little bit more resilient in the sense they can make friends and it’s not as big a deal. When they start getting to that high school age, it’s tough.

And the other thing is you meet friends in whatever area you’re in. To say goodbye to those friends you’ve known for four, five, six years and built a relationship with them, that’s hard.

It’s your players as well. I’ve had Tristan Wirfs since he’s been a rookie, Luke Goedeke, Robert Hainsey, those guys. You have them that long and you build relationships. They trust you, you trust them and then all of the sudden you’re up and leaving. Even though that’s part of the business – just like them, they could get traded and you might not have a say on it – that’s the hard part of it as well.

Q: What stands out about the Panthers and that region?

A: We’ve played them twice, they’re in our division. I’ve seen them play twice this year. Their defense is excellent. I believe they ranked third overall in the NFL or in the top five at least. I know Dave is all about playing team football – offense, defense, special teams. That’s a huge plus.

I think we’ve got a young quarterback and everyone I’ve talked to since they’ve known I’m headed to Carolina, I haven’t heard one person say a bad thing about Charlotte. It’s just a great city and I’m looking forward to going up there and experiencing it. Just like I did Tampa. Tampa, I love this area. I love the fans. Everybody down here has been fantastic and that’s why it’s kind of hard to leave as well.

Q: What have you learned as you've gone along as a coach?

A: At the end of the day it is about building relationships. Coaches, players, you’ve got to be able to work together. I’ve been in good situations, I’ve been in bad situations and then you realize every one of those – good or bad – it’s the people creating. Some of it could have been avoided, some can’t be avoided, but at the end of the day that’s what it boils down to. I think any successful business – and all the people I’ve met, my friends that own their own businesses – at the end of the day that’s what it’s all about. You can have the best X’s and O’s, but if you don’t have the right chemistry, the right culture I don’t care what you do, I don’t think you’re going to have any success.

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Q: How fortunate do you view yourself to coach in the NFL this long?

A: Very fortunate. You kidding me, I was telling my brother and friends, I’ve been in the NFL for going on 12 years now. I’ve gone a six-year stint with the Indianapolis Colts and five years with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and that’s unheard of to stay at two places for 11 years and I hope I get another good run here at Carolina. We won at Indianapolis, obviously won here at Tampa Bay and it goes back to the people.

Q: Your biggest takeaway from your time in Tampa?

A: I think I’ve really enjoyed Tampa itself, the friends I’ve made here, obviously winning the Super Bowl when you look at the Bucs. That is an experience that’s unbelievable, so the guys getting ready this weekend, I know what it’s like to get ready, understand the pressure you’re in. But when you win it and to be able to celebrate with your friends and family after the game, those are memories nobody can ever take from you and something that was hard to explain and was just awesome.

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This article originally appeared on Elmira Star-Gazette: Horseheads native Joe Gilbert named offensive line coach of Panthers