Sources have confirmed to Dave Campbell’s Texas Football that Coby Gipson will be named head coach at Howard Payne. Gipson joins the Yellow Jackets after spending the last five seasons as an assistant coach at Lamar under head coach Peter Rossomando and former coach Blane Morgan. Gipson served as running backs coach in his first two seasons with the Cardinals before coaching the wide receivers for the last three seasons.

Gipson brings experience on both sides of the ball to HPU. In 2019, he served as the defensive line coach at East Texas Baptist. He spent two seasons as the assistant head coach and offensive coordinator at Howard Payne under head coach Braxton Harris before joining ETBU.

“(I’m) very sad to leave Lamar and Beaumont, which has been our home for five years. It’s been an honor to be at Lamar and be part of this turnaround under Coach Rossomando’s incredible leadership. I have had a front-row view of a head coach academy working for him,” Gipson said. “Now it’s time to go to HPU and build upon the success of men like Vance Gibson, Roger Geise, Hunter Sims, Braxton Harris, Jason Bachtel, and Kevin Bachtel. Sting ‘em.”

Before moving to the collegiate ranks, he was head coach at Bishop T.K. Gorman High School in Tyler for five years. There, he guided the Crusaders to three consecutive playoff appearances and an appearance in the 2014 TAPPS State semifinals. He departed with a 28-17 overall record, which marked the best four-year winning percentage in the program’s 60-year history.

A graduate of LeTourneau, Gipson has been deeply involved with the Fellowship of Christian Athletes, having been honored with the Northeast Texas FCA Influence Award in 2017 and was named the 2022-2023 FCA Southeast Texas Coach of the Year. Gipson has an extensive family history in Brownwood, as his parents met while attending HPU. 

He inherits a challenging situation at HPU. The Yellow Jackets 2-8 record under Kevin Bacthel last season is the result of the American Southwest Conference being forced to play a double round-robin schedule against East Texas Baptist, Hardin-Simmons, and Mary Hardin-Baylor. Gipson will lead the Yellow Jackets through that gauntlet once again in 2025, as initially reported in The Blitz in late January.