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Jaguars hire former players Denard Robinson, Tony Gilbert as assistants

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – The Jaguars added two former players to their coaching staff on Friday.

Tony Gilbert and Denard Robinson joined the team on Friday, with Gilbert moving into an assistant linebacker’s coach role and Robinson becoming an offensive quality control coach.

Robinson, who played quarterback at Michigan, was labeled an offensive weapon when he arrived in Jacksonville due to his explosiveness in college. At Michigan, Robinson was a first-team All-American as a sophomore. The Jaguars drafted him in the fifth round in 2013. Robinson rushed for 1,058 yards and five touchdowns in his career with the Jaguars.

Since his pro football playing career ended, Robinson segued into coaching. He was last on the staff of the JU Dolphins football program. JU cut the football program last December.

As an offensive quality control coach, Robinson will help offensive coordinator Jay Gruden with practice and game preparation.

One other nugget on Robinson: he was the last cover athlete for the EA Sports NCAA Football video game franchise. The game was put on hiatus after its release in July 2013 following the lawsuit of former UCLA basketball player Ed O’Bannon that dealt with athletic likenesses and no compensation in video games. EA Sports hasn’t released a college football video game since.

That game, NCAA Football ’14, has become a must-have for football-starved video game fans. It consistently sells for more than $100 on eBay.

Gilbert will help linebackers coach Mark Collins with that unit. Gilbert, a Georgia product, played for the Jaguars from 2003-06. He retired in 2010. In his post-playing career, Gilbert has coached at seven different colleges including his alma mater, Auburn and UCF.


About the Author
Justin Barney headshot

Justin Barney joined News4Jax in February 2019, but he’s been covering sports on the First Coast for more than 20 years.

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