Gibbs Takes Checkered Flag
Gary Cope, SkinsGridiron.com, January 8, 2004

ASHBURN -- It can't be real. I woke up this morning thinking yesterday was just a really good dream. I mean c'mon, there's no way Joe Gibbs is coming back as the head coach of the Washington Redskins...right? Maybe this was the 2004 version of Orson Wells' "War of the Worlds" and it was all just a big hoax?

Alas, as I climbed in my car and tuned in to the local sports radio station, sure enough, they were all reporting the same thing: Joe Gibbs is coming out of retirement to coach the troubled Redskins and the press conference would be later today. Holy freakin' cow.

Yesterday, people all over the D.C. area were abuzz with the talk of a living legend returning to the team that he led to three Super Bowls in the 80s and 90s. I think Redskins fans, me included, can now understand the jubilation that Dallas fans felt when Jerry Jones landed Bill Parcells. The only difference it, Gibbs is one of us. He belongs here. He has history here.

In his 12 seasons as a head coach, he had one losing campaign (1988-89) when the Skins went 7-9. His coaching record in the playoffs, 16-5, is second only to Vince Lombardi in terms of winning percentage. Just the mention of his name causes people to pause, smile and honor a moment of silence for glory days long since passed.

I almost felt like I should wear 80s fashion to work because I feel like we've somehow gone back in time. I was thinking a white suit, sleeves pushed up to my elbows, a bright pink t-shirt and loafers with no socks, a la Miami Vice. The last time the Redskins won a Super Bowl, I was a 17-year-old junior in high school. That was 12 years ago. Where does the time go? (All too slowly if you've been a Skins fan the last dozen years.)

Now, I'm as excited as anyone else that Gibbs is coming back. I think he'll do a great job of rallying the players and bringing some much-needed order and discipline to a franchise steeped in chaos. However, as a journalist, I try to see both the good and potentially not-so-good. And please, don't shoot the messenger; I'm just throwing some things out there.

Gibbs is 63 years old. To me, that's not old. He's a year older than Bill Parcells and 10 years younger than Dick Vermiel. He's had 12 years to get away from the game and he's been completely healthy. His kids are grown and are now running his NASCAR operations. He's accomplished a lot in the dozen years he's been away from the game. Yes, he's not as young as he used to be, but who is? If anything, the time away from the game should help him.

My fiancée pointed out yesterday that Gibbs hasn't coached since he stepped down in '92, which means he's not used to dealing with players in a free agency market. Free Agency has drastically changed the face of the NFL and its teams. Sure, your star players are staying put for the most part (i.e. Brett Favre, Peyton Manning, Michael Vick, Tiki Barber, etc.), but they command such large salaries, it's the grunts, the role players that find themselves moving from team to team.

When players like Jeremiah Trotter (formerly of the Eagles) elevate their status from a no-name rookie or journeyman to All Pro, suddenly, their market value increases, which subsequently prices those players out of their team's available cap space and forces them to go elsewhere.

A prime example is the Tennessee Titans who lost both their quarterbacks to injury and were faced with having to put their starter, Steve McNair, back in the lineup despite the fact he wasn't physically ready. The team's front office had less than $80,000 under the cap and they were finding it difficult to sign a back-up quarterback. They eventually succeeded, but it took a lot of doing.

These are the types of new challenges facing Coach Gibbs in the new NFL. I have no doubts about his coaching ability or his leadership. He is notorious for getting the most out of his players. We're talking about a man who won three Super Bowls with three different quarterbacks, only one of whom is in the Hall of Fame (Joe Theismann). The other two, Doug Williams and Mark Rypien, were average quarterbacks at best. They succeeded because Gibbs made them better.

Some are saying that the Skins will need another quarterback besides Patrick Ramsey. I disagree. Ramsey showed signs of being a very good quarterback while playing in a very bad system. If Gibbs can get Rypien and Williams to the Super Bowl, I think Ramsey will be just fine.

No…quarterback is not the issue for the Skins-running back and defensive line are the two areas they need the most help. And while Gibbs has the fifth pick in the 2004 draft, he's going to need to make a trade or two to bring in some good, solid defensive lineman. A draft pick won't help in this situation, at least not right away. I wouldn't expect the Skins to draft a quarterback, unless they pick up a sleeper in the late rounds. I'm sure Gibbs watched Ramsey take a beating and play hurt last season and that's exactly the kind of player he wants on his team. However, I think he'll also push Ramsey, if he does in fact choose him as the QB, to take more of a leadership role on the offense.

Perhaps this bold move by Dan Snyder will convince Champ Bailey to stick around and see what happens. Speaking of Snyder, I congratulate him for a great move, but to stay in the fickle good graces of the Redskin Nation, he must stay true to his word and back off-let Gibbs do what he's getting paid $5 million a year to do.

Gibbs will also take over as team president and as such, he has complete control over personnel and coaching matters. He's already hired Joe Bugel (assistant head coach) and Gregg Williams (defensive coordinator) to his staff. What Gibbs wants, he gets and quite frankly, he's earned that right. He dictated the negotiations and Danny-boy did the smart thing and relented. Now all Snyder has to do is sit back and bask in the glory that has spontaneously returned to the Redskins' organization.

And if you ask me, it's about time.