Coaching Staff

Jason Gibson

Head Coach / Director of Football Operations

Phone7063223336

Jason Gibson is entering his 15th season as the Head Coach/Director of Football Operations of the Columbus Lions and is the only head coach in franchise history.

The Lions are 102-44 under Gibson and have made the playoffs in twelve out of thirteen years. In 2019, Gibson led the Lions to the playoffs again but ended with a road lost to the Jacksonville Sharks. Despite going through three different starting QBs, the Lions still managed to finish second in passing offense and 1st in red zone offense. The 2018 season saw the Lions limp into the playoffs after losing QB Mason Espinosa and all three starting wide receivers. The Lions still managed to make the NAL Championship for the third straight season falling to the Carolina Cobras. The Lions finished the 2017 season 5yds away from their 3rd straight championship as they lost to the Jacksonville Sharks 27-21. 2017 saw the Lions led the league in total TDs, Michael Reeve earned NAL Offensive Player of the Year and Kyle Griswould led the league in interceptions. With a 21 point 2nd half comeback at Lehigh Valley in the first round of the playoffs, the Lions proved they are still one of the top teams in the country. 2016 saw the Lions earned their 2nd consecutive league Championship with a 74-32 blowout of Western Michigan. Led by league leaders and MVP Casey Kacz and Michael Reeve, the Lions completed the perfect season going undefeated. 2015 ended with the PIFL Championship defeating the Richmond Raiders 64-38. In 2011, Gibson led the Lions to the SIFL Southern Division title and an 11-1 regular season record. In 2010, Gibson’s Lions won the SIFL Championship. The Lions swept the league awards that year as Chris McCoy won Offensive Player of the Year, Damian Daniels won Defensive Player of the Year, and Trey Crum won Special Teams Player of the Year.

Gibson has 14 years of high school football coaching experience. He currently is the head coach for the Glenwood Gators where he led them to the state finals in 2019 & 2020, semifinals in 2018 & 2016. He served two years as the QB/WR coach at Calvert High School in Prince Frederick, MD; one year as the quarterback/wide receiver coach at Dudley High School in Greensboro, NC; two years as offensive coordinator at Western Guilford High School; and two years as head coach at Eastern Guilford High School. His efforts at Eastern earned him the Carolina Panthers 2004 NFL High School Football Coach of the Year award.

Gibson began his football career as a quarterback at Calvert (Md.) High School. He went on to play at Fairmont State University (W.V.) as a quarterback but moved to wide receiver for his sophomore through senior years. In his senior year, despite missing two games due to injury, Gibson finished seventh in the nation in receiving touchdowns while garnering all-conference honors and leading the conference in scoring. His single-season touchdown reception mark of 18 still stands in the Fairmont State record book.

His professional career includes stints with the BC Lions and Toronto Argonauts in the Canadian Football League and the Marburg Mercenaries in the GFL Europe where he led the league with 24 receiving touchdowns. Gibson began his arena career with the Greensboro Prowlers of af2. He is the Prowlers' all-time leader in receptions, TD’s, yards, and second all-time in interceptions.

Gibson received a Bachelor’s of Science in Criminal Justice/Spanish from Fairmont State University in 1996 and received an education degree from North Carolina A&T University in 2005. He is on the board for the pastoral institute and active member of ALL -PRO DAD.

A native of Huntingtown, Md., Gibson is married to the former Sarah Blanton of Phenix City and resides there with their two sons, Gunnar and Jett and their daughter Steele.

Show less

Brandon Reed

Defensive Coordinator

Rayshun (Brandon) Reed returns to the Lions this season as the defensive coordinator and DBs coach. He is entering his 9th season.

Reed was born and raised in Columbus. He went on to play collegiately at Troy University where he was a standout cornerback for the Trojans, picking up six interceptions in his first season there in 2001. In 2004, Reed was signed as a free agent in the NFL by the San Francisco 49ers. He was a member of the team for two seasons and saw action in seven games in 2004. In 2006, Reed was drafted and played for Hamburg in NFL Europe in the spring prior to being picked up as a free agent by the New York Jets in the NFL. He left outdoor football for the indoor game in 2007, playing with Orlando of the AFL for one season, then moving down I-4 to play for Tampa Bay in 2008.

Show less

Brandon Thomas

DL Coach / Operations

Brandon Thomas returns to the Lions this season as the Defensive Line coach after serving as the Offensive Line coach for the past three seasons.

Brandon was born and raised in Cleveland, Ohio. He went on to play collegiately at the University of Tulsa who had the #1 ranked offense for two seasons in NCAA. After college he went on to play CFL for the Hamilton Tiger Cats in 2012 and camp with the Cleveland Browns. After that Brandon began his seven season playing career here with the Lions winning two back to back championships in 2015-2016 seasons and a undefeated season. Coach also teaches and coaches health and football at a local highschool here in the area.

Show less

Sean Johnson

OL Coach

Columbus Lions head coach Jason Gibson hired Sean Johnson in late June as the Offensive Line Coach for the Lions 2021 season. Johnson comes to Columbus with an impressive resume that includes serving as coach for the Georgia Cardinals, from 2017 to 2019. The seasons which Johnson served as a coach for the Georgia Cardinals, the team had all championship seasons.

In 2019, Johnson took his coaching skills to the Cape Fear Heroes, where he helped lead the team to a 7-3 record Coach Gibson expressed his interest in the energy that he feels Johnson will bring to the Lions.

Johnson, a native of Brooklyn, New York is no stranger to the field himself. His football background traces to his days at Erasmus Hall High School in New York where he started as an offensive lineman and defensive lineman. His talents later landed him in professional indoor football wherein 2014, he played with the Alabama Outlawz, a X-League football team.

Johnson now makes his way to the National Arena League where he finds himself on the coaching side of things. Johnson touched the fields of the NAL in the inaugural season of 2017, when he played with the Georgia Firebirds, in Albany, Georgia.

The addition of Johnson promises to put Columbus in a position to bring another Championship trophy to the Fountain City in the near future as he adds to a powerhouse the Lions began building this past season.

Show less

Allen Meek

Football Operations

Geno Guerrieri

Scout

Geno Guerrieri is a 1990 graduate of Yough High School in Pennsylvania. He is also a 1992 graduate of Potomac State College, where he was Academic All-American as a Quarterback and graduated from Fairmont State University in 1995 with a degree in Criminal Justice.

He began his coaching career at Bell Vernon High in Pennsylvania coaching the quarterbacks. In 1996, Geno returned to FSU to coach the quarterbacks for two years. His coaching experience extended to young athletes as he coached FOP Colts for three years. In April 2013, Coach Guerrieri was inducted into the Potomac State Athletic Hall of Fame and is currently the Chief of Police in White Hall. Geno also has been the Quarterback coach for the last 7 years for Fairmont Senior High School in which they have won State Championship for AA in 2018 and 2020. He is married to Michelle, has step son Blake, and daughter Avery.

Show less

Aubrey Ketcham

HYDRATION SPECIALIST

Aubrey Ketcham is the son of season ticket holders, Jason and Sara Ketcham. He has been a Lions fan for the last 8 years.

Aubrey is a 6th grade student at Calvary Christian School where he plays the alto saxophone in the band. Aubrey also is a member of the Calvary Christian School Middle School Cross Country Team and plays soccer at Columbus Youth Soccer Complex. In his free time he enjoys playing video games and hanging out with his friends and favorite Lions player, QB Mason Espinosa. Being the hydration specialist for the Columbus Lions has taught him discipline and team work.

Quote:
“It has been an honor to meet all the Lions players over the years. I was really sad that we were not able to play the 2020 season but I’m ready to keep the team hydrated and bring home the NAL championship this season. Thanks to Coach Gibson for giving me this opportunity.” - Aubrey Ketcham

Show less