North Carolina A&T head coach Shawn Gibbs was as candid as ever after the Aggies’ lopsided 62-20 loss to rival North Carolina Central. While the defeat stung, it was the way his team carried itself that left the deepest mark on the head coach.
“Saturday was, without a doubt, the most disappointing day of my career in football as a player or a coach,” Gibbs said. “We were out-coached, we were out-played, and out-cultured.”
A Call for Culture Change
The Aggies’ head coach said the problems go beyond missed tackles or blown assignments. To him, the real challenge is a mindset issue. Gibbs pointed to pre-game antics where one of his players squirted Central’s head coach Trei Oliver with a water bottle. That — among other things — led to a decision not to shake hands after the game.
“When those guys would come to the sidelines, that’s when we chose to be tough,” Gibbs said. “I was not going to turn a bad day into something worse. We just went down to the band and I went over and congratulated Coach Oliver and his staff. The main thing that has to change is our culture.
“That’s not how we’re going to do stuff,” Gibbs said bluntly. He also confirmed that the player involved in the incident is no longer on the roster. “Anybody that’s going to act like that will not be a part of this team.”
The head coach described a locker room in which too many players are quick to criticize or undercut their teammates instead of supporting them. “We’ve got too many guys that hate on this team,” he admitted. “Anytime my teammate has an opportunity to shine, I’ve got to support them. Those are the things we’ve got to work on.”
Quarterback Room Sets the Example
Interestingly, Gibbs singled out one position group as a model for the rest of the program: the quarterbacks. Despite ongoing competition and injuries, he praised Kevin White, Braxton, and the rest of the unit for lifting each other up and staying engaged.
“None of the quarterbacks are hating,” Gibbs said. “They pull for each other. They try to help each other become better players. They understand what competition is.”
Execution Still Matters
Gibbs pointed out how even injured quarterbacks take mental reps at practice, tracking reads behind the starter to stay sharp.
“When we can get the rest of our position groups to think and operate like those guys do, this team will make a tremendous amount of improvement.”
While culture was the central theme, Gibbs also acknowledged that execution failed across the board. The Aggies managed just 42 rushing yards on 35 carries while allowing Central’s offense to look like “Tom Brady and Bo Jackson,” in Gibbs’ words. He took responsibility for questionable play calls, including a fourth-and-one decision in his own territory.
Still, Gibbs made it clear that tactical adjustments won’t matter if the foundation isn’t strong.
“Not fighting and not quitting is not going to win football games,” he said. “We’ve got to learn how to be efficient and effective on offense and defense.”
North Carolina A&T looking to turn the page
North Carolina A&T now turns its focus to a long trip to Maine, but Gibbs stressed that his priority is fixing the Aggies from the inside out.
“I’m not really focusing on Maine,” he said. “I’m focusing on North Carolina A&T because that’s what we’ve got to get fixed.”
The message was unmistakable: before North Carolina A&T can climb the ladder, it must first rebuild its culture.
At what point will our HBCUs catch up? I played at a PWI, Wake Forest University. I have also coached at the HBCU level. We need to stop making excuses and recruit better and focus on player development. When I talk to HBCU coaches they mostly say the same things. “We don’t have the facilities, or the resources”. The squat rack at a Power 4/5 program does the same thing at an HBCU. Recruit quality players and develop them. Be more creative in your offensive and defensive schemes. Take pride in finding decent kickers to beef up your special teams.
The same goes for basketball. Why is it that our teams shoot so poorly? It’s the same three point and free throw distance on every college court. My question to coaches are why their players aren’t getting up more game shots before practice? Why aren’t they watching film before practice. Why aren’t their players in summer school preparing for the season? That’s for football, volleyball, basketball? Why aren’t our coaches thinking outside of the box when it comes to recruiting? Why are our D1 HBCUs, that have full scholarships, not using them wisely? We need to stop trying to win the conference and start building programs that can compete nationally. A&T coach was complaining about being dominated by a FBS school but you get whipped by a team on your level. Culture starts from the HEAD COACH. I don’t know how people that cannot coach continue to get jobs. I would love to have one of these head coaching positions. I definitely show them how to build a program that competes and not just in a conference.
I applaud the Coach’s decision to kick the young player off the team. That willr reverberate amongst the players and they will know that the Coach is not playing with them. Kudos!
I am a graduate and former player at North Carolina A&T. Coach Hayes instilled the upmost pride in us and we refused to be defeated. We went on to secure a Black College National Championship and 2 MEAC Championships. We did more with less, by defeating Liberty, Western Carolina and App State who were all nationally ranked. You have to OWE everyone OUT WORK EVERYONE! Bill Hayes said it simple and plain, you have to work while your enemy sleeps. They can’t complain on what they don’t have, they need to focus and develop on what they do have.