Tobin was a defensive back for the Missouri Tigers and entered the coaching ranks as a graduate assistant with the team in 1965.
The Stars appeared in all three USFL championship games under Tobin and head coach Jim Mora, winning the last two in 1984 and 1985.
[3] After the USFL folded, Tobin, along with seven other Stars assistants and head coach Jim Mora, was hired by the New Orleans Saints on January 28, 1986.
He resigned four days later on February 1 to become the defensive coordinator with the Super Bowl XX Champion Chicago Bears.
He succeeded Buddy Ryan who became head coach of the Philadelphia Eagles one day after Tobin had joined the Saints.
[4][5] While the Bears' defensive unit ranked among the league's highest during his tenure, they never achieved the same dominance as they did in 1985, with the team's only playoff wins coming over Ryan's Eagles in 1988's Fog Bowl and in 1991 against New Orleans.