Gibbons was born in Great Falls, Montana, and raised in San Antonio, Texas, where he attended Douglas MacArthur High School.

[2][3] The son of United States Air Force colonel William Gibbons, he had his first Little League Baseball at-bat while playing in Happy Valley-Goose Bay, Labrador, Canada, where the family lived temporarily.

He appeared in 8 games and batted .474 (9 for 19), but the Mets already had the majors' best catcher in Gary Carter and an established backup in Ed Hearn.

[5] Gibbons began his coaching career with the Mets in 1990 as a minor league roving catching instructor.

[9] In 1994, he joined the Mets' South Atlantic League franchise, the Capital City Bombers, as a hitting coach.

In 1998, he led the Eastern League's Binghamton Mets to the playoffs, and then followed that with three seasons as manager of the Norfolk Tides.

[citation needed] Hired by the Toronto Blue Jays' former general manager J. P. Ricciardi in 2002, as a bullpen catcher, Gibbons worked his way up to first base coach in June 2002.

[12] Expectations were higher in 2006, after the Blue Jays acquired A. J. Burnett, Troy Glaus, Lyle Overbay, B. J. Ryan, and Bengie Molina.

Toronto ended the season in second place in the American League East division with an 87–75 record, one game ahead of the Boston Red Sox.

[17] Gibbons was named to the 2013 American League All-Star coaching staff by Detroit Tigers manager Jim Leyland.

They would finish the season with a record of 83–79,[12] good enough for third place in the AL East,[12] and five games back of a wild card spot.

[25] On April 5, 2016, after a 3–2 loss to the Tampa Bay Rays ended on a questionable slide by José Bautista which was ruled as a double play, Gibbons stated, "Maybe we'll come out and wear dresses tomorrow.

[27] On September 11, Gibbons was ejected for the eighth time in the 2016 season, tying the team's single-season record set by Bobby Cox; he led the major leagues in 2016.

[28] The Blue Jays made the playoffs for the second consecutive season, and defeated Baltimore in the Wild Card Game to advance.