Vince Gibson Vince Gibson ( March 27 , 1933 – January 10 , 2012 ) was an American football player and coach . He served as head football coach at Kansas State University ( 1967 – 1974 ) , the University of Louisville ( 1975 – 1979 ) , and Tulane University ( 1980 – 1982 ) , compiling a career college football record of 75 – 98 – 2 . In 1992 , He coached the New Orleans Night of the Arena Football League , tallying a mark of 0 – 10 . Early life and playing career . Gibson was born and raised in Birmingham , Alabama . He graduated from Florida State University in 1955 , where he received two letters playing as an offensive guard for the Seminoles . He entered the coaching profession immediately after graduation . Coaching career . Gibson ' s first football coaching position was at South Georgia College in 1956 , a position he held for three years . At South Georgia , Gibson served as the sole assistant under head coach Bobby Bowden , who had grown up in the same Birmingham neighborhood as Gibson . Following his stint at South Georgia , Gibson returned to his alma mater Florida State to work as an assistant coach from 1959 to 1963 . Before leaving Florida State , Gibson also helped to get Bowden hired as an assistant at that school , where Bowden eventually became head coach . Gibson next served as defensive coordinator at the University of Tennessee from 1964 to 1966 . Kansas State . Prior to the 1967 football season , Gibson was hired as head coach at Kansas State University . When he was hired , the school was mired in a 21 - game non - winning streak and had not enjoyed a winning season since 1954 , but he promised the Wildcat fans , " We gonna win ! " Gibson ' s first season at Kansas State ended with a 1 – 9 record , but the next year the team showed significant improvement . Behind sophomore quarterback Lynn Dickey , the 1968 squad earned the school ' s first national ranking in the AP Poll and shut out the Nebraska in Lincoln for the school ' s first victory over NU in a decade . That same season , Kansas State also moved into a new football stadium . Gibson truly began to deliver on his promise to win during the 1969 season . The team started 2 – 0 before second - ranked Penn State arrived to play in Manhattan , Kansas . Penn State ultimately finished the 1969 season undefeated , but Kansas State provided them with one of their toughest tests in a 17 – 14 game . Following the loss to Penn State , Kansas State reeled off three straight victories , including a win over defending conference champion Kansas in the first Governor ' s Cup game , and a 59 – 21 blowout of # 11 Oklahoma , which was Kansas State ' s first win over the Sooners since 1934 and the largest loss in Oklahoma ' s history . K - State would not beat another ranked team until 1993 , when Bill Snyder lead the team to victory over Oklahoma again . After the 1969 Oklahoma game , Kansas State sported a 5 – 1 record and a # 12 national ranking in the AP Poll . This was the high - point of the season , as the team lost its last four games to finish 5 – 5 . Nevertheless , in only his third season , Gibson had dramatically improved the program . Prior to the 1970 season , Gibson was named the pre - season national coach of the year by " Playboy Magazine " . The season that followed was up - and - down but ultimately disappointing despite a winning record and a second - place finish in the Big Eight Conference . Kansas State won at Oklahoma and defeated eighth - ranked Colorado , but the season was soured by non - conference defeats and a blow - out loss to Nebraska in the final conference game of the year with the conference title on the line . The worst news of the season came on October 7 , 1970 , when the conference slapped the Wildcats with three years ' probation for recruiting violations . Most seriously , the Wildcats were banned from bowl games and live television for one year . Gibson later said that the sanctions — the result of what he called an immature quarrel with Kansas coach Pepper Rodgers — destroyed his program . Kansas State stagnated following the 1970 season , with Gibson ' s teams hovering below the . 500 mark for the next four years . Quarterback Steve Grogan provided some excitement during the 1973 and 1974 seasons , but it was never enough to provide a winning record . Gibson decided to leave Kansas State following the 1974 season with a final record of 33 – 52 . Louisville and Tulane . Following his term at Kansas State , Gibson served as head football coach at the University of Louisville from 1975 to 1979 . His record at Louisville was 25 – 29 – 2 , and in 1977 he took the school to the third bowl game in its history , the second Independence Bowl . While at Louisville , Gibson coined the nickname " Red Rage " for the football team , a related carry over from the " Purple Pride " at K - State . While no longer used as a moniker for the football team , the term Red Rage has been used over the years for various organizations . Currently , the U of L Marching Band is introduced as the " RED RAGE ! " Marching Band . NFL notables from Louisville during Gibson ' s tenure include Otis Wilson of the Chicago Bears and Dwayne Woodruff of the Pittsburgh Steelers . From 1980 to 1982 Gibson coached at Tulane University , posting an overall record of 17 – 17 . Gibson defeated Louisiana State University in two out of his three seasons at Tulane and also coached the Green Wave to an appearance in the Hall of Fame bowl . Awards . Gibson was named the Big Eight Conference Coach of the Year in 1970 . He was also selected to coach the North squad in the 1971 North - South Shrine Game . Gibson is enshrined in the Alabama Sports Hall of Fame and the Kansas State University Athletics Hall of Fame . Death . Gibson died in 2012 in Kenner , Louisiana after a battle with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis . He was 78 .