(K-LOVE Closer Look) -- Football fans remember NFL Coach Joe Gibbs as the man who led the Washington Redskins to three Superbowl victories -- but for the legend now known to many as just 'Coach,' his personal sports and faith hero is his late son J.D. The funeral service for J.D. Gibbs has been viewed online at jdgibbslegacy.com more than 3-million times.
After Coach Gibbs retired from football he tackled the world of competitive racing and NASCAR, placing his son at the helm of JOE GIBBS RACING. "When we bought the first nut and bolt to our race cars J.D. was here," says Coach, who praises his son for successfully balancing the demands of work and home while serving as a board member for Christian-based Young Life. After J.D.'s death, thousands of notes and cards poured in commemorating his vast influence on the racing industry and on youth he had served in ministry.
That outpouring of devotion was underscored barely a month after his death. His racing team made NASCAR history by finishing 1st-2nd-3rd at the Daytona 500. Coach saw the outcome as a miracle. "Everything that took place at Daytona, and everything that took place in J.D.'s life at that point, God. showed. up."
Coach says he’s learned a lot about faith and suffering from his son's life -- and his death -- and he sees God in J.D.'s continuing influence now that he's with the Lord.
