Former Gainesville coach Josh Niblett is headed to the college football ranks, but not without an emotional goodbye to his fan base of the last four years.
Niblett bid farewell to the Gainesville community on the team’s latest podcast episode of “Behind the G.”
“I knew there were two things that were going to happen while I was here that I take a lot of pride in: I’m going to love my kids, and I’m going to love my coaches, and by gosh, I’m going to show up every day,” Niblett said. “I may not be the best ball coach, and we may not win every game, but I wanted those kids to know that when they left here every day that somebody loved them, and that somebody was going to be waiting on them in the morning to let them know they loved them again.
“And that’s the hardest part for me because I personally put so much in. My heart, my family, the love I have. And I think that’s why I get emotional, because some people can just leave, take, do whatever, but I’ve just always tried to invest myself in what I do.”
Niblett is expected to join Deion Sanders’ coaching staff at the University of Colorado, according to AccessWDUN. The school announced Niblett was leaving for a college coaching position but didn’t name which school.
Niblett led Gainesville to statewide prominence after a mediocre stretch from 2015 to 2021, when the Red Elephants averaged five wins per season.
Niblett led Gainesville to a 14-1 finish in his first season, falling 35-28 to Hughes in the state championship. The Red Elephants went 45-9 under Niblett and won two region championships.
Gainesville made it back to the state title game in 2025 but lost 62-21 to Thomas County Central.
“The only thing that I regret the most is that when I stood in that new place, the new cafeteria, and I said, ‘I didn’t come here to win games. I came here to win championships,’ and I didn’t win a state championship,” Niblett said. “And I wanted to be able to do that, and that’ll bother me for a long time because I take that kind of stuff personal, but I wouldn’t trade one second of any time that I’ve been here.
“This has been the most rewarding job that I’ve ever had.”
Niblett has the highest winning percentage of any coach in Gainesville history at 83.3% (minimum 10 games coached). The Red Elephants won as many games in four years under Niblett as they had in the eight years before he was hired.
“I’m truly blessed to have been able to coach here, and I know God sent me here for a reason,” Niblett said. “You just hope that your time here added value, because I know it added value to me, and that’s all I care about.
“I don’t care about being remembered, I don’t care about any of that. I just care about the standards in which we set here will still last and still be a part of this program.”
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