Pat Gibbs, wife of NASCAR and NFL legend Joe Gibbs, or affectionately known as Coach Gibbs, has been a solid presence in his husband’s life for more than half a century. She has played an important role in success of Joe Gibbs Racing behind the scenes, while also handling the pressure and challenges that come with being married to a high-profile personality like Joe Gibbs.

Throughout their years of marriage, she has been the source of strength for Joe Gibbs and enabled him to succeed in his career. “She has always been a big encouragement for me, and she has helped me make decisions in the most spiritual of ways,” said Joe Gibbs in an interview talking about his wife and her support behind the scenes. Patricia’s support has been vital through all of Joe Gibbs’s football and racing career, running their home and raising their kids on her own.

Who is Pat Gibbs?

Patricia Gibbs, born Patricia Escobar, hails from the United States and is of Mexican descent, with her great grandparents coming from Mexico to the US. She and Joe Gibbs dated for nearly 8 years before deciding to tie the knot on January 29, 1966. Despite all the challenges of being married to a football coach and a NASCAR team owner, their marriage has flourished for nearly six decades as of 2025.

Gibbs revealed that it was the time when he was away from Patricia for an extended period as she vacationed in Europe that he decided it was time to tie the knot.“I missed her. I think she was gone for like 2 months or something crazy. So when she came back, I just felt like this will be a good time for us to get this thing done.”

Pat Gibbs has always maintained a low profile, away from the public eye, with limited public information about her early life, education, and professional career available to the general public. Her popularity rose in the world through her marriage to Joe Gibbs, a relationship that has seen both its highs and its profound challenges, particularly highlighted by her health scare in 1980.

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Husband Joe Gibbs opens up on wife’s battle with brain tumor?

In 1980, Joe Gibbs was building a budding NFL career as assistant coach of the San Diego Chargers when he got the news. “She was crying. You could tell she was trying to hide it from me. She’d hid it for several weeks because we hadn’t finished the football season.”

Pat Gibbs was diagnosed with an acoustic neuroma, a tumor located behind her ear. This tumor marked the start of a tough battle for the Gibbs family. After she had the initial operation for the tumor, the complex medical condition further led to serious complications, which led to her having another operation. This was a time of challenges for her and her family as well.

“They had diagnosed her with an acoustic neuroma, it’s a benign tumor, but it’s a tumor behind your ear in this auditory canal and she was going to have to have surgery and so I think that was a traumatic time for us and knowing that how serious this was. Had the surgery and then had somewhat of a setback with it afterwards, she’d had some more bleeding there and it just caused all kinds of issues with her and so it affected one side of her face.” said an emotional Joe Gibbs in an interview with Graham Bensinger talking about his wife and her medical condition.

“It was horrible because she was in intensive care… It was just a traumatic time for us, the whole family, and it was so hard for Pat; it’s amazing the way she deals with it… The biggest thing was you know the fact that there was paralysis there and we had to fight through all the things that effects and she was such a champion… I’m not sure how many people could [have] dealt with that the way she did,” said Gibbs, further explaining his wife’s medical conditions and the effects they had on the whole family. 

In a more lighthearted moment, Gibbs revealed that Pat’s absence during her recovery led to a hilariously alarming situation at home. Gibbs recalls how he and his children just didn’t know how to do laundry without Pat at home. “We just kinda stacked everything up in a corner, and when we ran out of underwear, I just went and bought more!” Gibbs said, while chuckling. “I still don’t know how to do laundry.”

How has Pat Gibbs left a lasting impact on her children?

Pat Gibbs’ influence is evident in her children’s lives, all three of them, J.D. Gibbs, Coy Gibbs who have been molded due to her love, support, and her never-give-up attitude. J.D. Gibbs, who served as the president of Joe Gibbs Racing, passed away tragically in 2019. But he always praised and admitted his mother’s hand was behind his and his siblings’ success. 

“My mom, she does so much, she has such a tough life. She lived it well, and so just want to reward her and say thank you, mom really that’s basically what we’re saying, and you know thank you …for all she [has] done to raise me and my brother…we’re just so proud of her,” said J.D. Gibbs on his mother’s nomination for 2014 Women of Influence award.

In 2022, Joe Gibbs and Patricia tragically lost their son Coy Gibbs as well. Gibbs was a former driver, and an assistant coach for the Washington Redskins, following in his father’s path, and also a co-owner of Joe Gibbs Racing. While their children are no longer around, the lasting impact that they have left remains to be seen today with the success of Joe Gibbs Racing as an organization with multiple championships in their name.

Joe Gibbs and his wife still live in Charlotte, North Carolina, proof of their happy lives despite the hard times they had and the challenges they have faced so far.