ESPN is reporting that Joe Gibbs will be calling a 3pm news conference to resign as Head Coach and Team President of the Washington Redskins. Gibbs will reportedly remain on as a "Special Advisor" to Dan Snyder.
Good for Joe. This was the appropriate thing for him to do. It's hard to imagine that this team would give him a send-off as good as this year's group gave to him. After Taylor's funeral, the Redskins unanimously agreed that Joe was a key part of the team winning out their last four games. Joe is a legend in D.C. and he would've been a legend even if he had retired after a 5-11 season. Unfortunately, that legend would've been tarnished. All you had to do was look at his face and you could see how much this last coaching sting, especially this last year, has aged him. It had to take a very significant toll on such a principled man who normally would never resign and who would never not fulfill a contract that he had signed.
We've had Joe for four years. He's taken us to the playoffs two of those years. That's not so bad. He was responsible for drafting Jason Campbell, Sean Taylor, Rocky McIntosh, Laron Landry. Verdict is out on Jason Campbell although he shows signs of progress. What more can you say about #21 except for the fact that he would've been an All-Pro for years to come. McIntosh is gradually turning into a key special teams guy and a solid linebacker. And Landry is going to be a stud.
I'll save my prognostications for who the next head coach will be for another post (although Gregg Williams is going to be owed $5 million in buyout if he is not the next head coach).
But for now, thanks Joe, I'm glad you could go out on your own terms, and I'm glad that you realized that this was the season after which to walk back into the twilight.
6 Responses:
Why do I fear Bill Cowher is suddenly interested in returning to coaching?
Gibbs did tarnish his legacy some, but enough to lose his diety status in DC. Three Super Bowls will do that for you.
But I'll be the one to say it. Even if this stint was total, abject failure, he pretty much underachieved and made some horrible in-game coaching decisions that cost them wins over the last four years.
Oh well, back to looking for that slam-dunk hire. Man, are we like the Dolphins or what? I feel a 1-15 season coming soon.
I assume you meant not enough. I think his non-strike Super Bowl trophy is something for which he should be very proud.
Want to feel ill? Brian Billick's name is being tossed around for the Skins' job.
Can we just hire Cam Cameron as OC, keep Williams as DC, and just hire a figurehead head coach for interviews?
$10 million/year is enough to make anybody interested in coming back a year early.
You could always hire Billick for this year and then fire him and get Cowher for next year.
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