Former NFL linebacker named Atlantic Coast (Fla.) head football coach
· Yahoo Sports
A former NFL linebacker and coach is taking the helm of the Jacksonville (Fla.) Atlantic Coast Stingrays’ football program, according to a announcement by the school on Wednesday.
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The Atlantic Coast High School athletic department announced via Instagram in a post that former Jacksonville Jaguar/Atlanta Falcon Tony Gilbert has been promoted to become the next head football coach of the program. Gilbert recently served as the team’s defensive coordinator last season.
We are excited to introduce Tony Gilbert as our new HFC. Coach Gilbert brings a wealth of football knowledge and experience to Atlantic Coast. After a decorated college career at the Univ of Georgia, and 7 seasons in the NFL, he developed an extensive coaching career at several SEC, ACC and other D1 college football programs, before returning home to Jax to coach with the Jacksonville Jaguars.
The middle linebacker starred at the University of Georgia and was named Second-team All-SEC in 2002 after notching a career-high 114 tackles and recording 2.5 sacks.
Gilbert played in the NFL from 2003 to 2010, with the bulk of his time coming with the local Jaguars from 2003-2007. The middle linebacker joined the Falcons for multiple seasons before rejoining Jacksonville’s practice squad in 2010 before ending his playing career.
After the NFL, Gilbert got into coaching collegiately and returned to his alma mater Georgia where he served as the assistant strength & conditioning coach in 2011. From there, Gilbert had stints at Auburn, Georgia State, North Carolina and UCF before joining the NFL ranks once again, but this time as a coach.
Gilbert for multiple seasons served as the assistant linebackers coach with the Jaguars before then switching to coaching inside backers exclusively.
The Stingrays finished the 2025 Florida high school football season with a record of 4-6, missing out on the Florida High School Athletic Association (FHSAA) playoffs. Now Gilbert is tasked with leading the program to its first winning campaign since 2021. Atlantic Coast has had only one above .500 season in the past decade and now will head into a new era under Gilbert, someone who is very familiar with football in the Duval County area.