Damn, didn't see this coming ESPN.com news services WASHINGTON -- Hall of Fame coach Joe Gibbs is set to make a surprise return to the Washington Redskins. NFL sources have comfirmed to ESPN that Gibbs has agreed to coach the Redskins. The Washington Post, citing sources with connections to Gibbs, reported late Tuesday on its Web site that Gibbs was in serious discussions about returning to the team that he led to three Super Bowl titles. Gibbs, who is 63, coached the Redskins from 1981 to 1992 before resigning to pursue a career with his own NASCAR team. He has been adamant over the years about not wanting to coach again, although he has retained NFL connections. He is a minority owner of the Atlanta Falcons. The Redskins are seeking a replacement for Steve Spurrier, who resigned last week. They have interviewed former New York Giants coach Jim Fassel, former Minnesota coach Dennis Green and Seattle defensive coordinator Ray Rhodes, who was in town Tuesday. A source close to Fassel told the Post that he did not believe Fassel would be hired because the club was planning a major surprise. That source added that he believed Gibbs' return would be the surprise. Calls to the Redskins and to Gibbs' racing team were not returned immediately. Gibbs' racing teams have been among the most successful in NASCAR, with two Winston Cup championships in the last four seasons. Bobby Labonte took the title in 2000, Tony Stewart in 2002. Gibbs' oldest son, J.D., is president of Joe Gibbs Racing. The former coach's youngest son, Coy, finished 14th last season in the Busch Series standings. Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.
Snyder is really going to have to change his ways some for this to work. My father who has been a Redskins fan for over 40 years feels that DS is impossible to work for.
Well, I live here, and I heard a lot of happy screaming today. Everybody is excited. I'm not a skin fan myself. But this place was depressed until today. All of that just changed.
Maybe this news will give a little less air time to Pete Rose...I wish they'd just put him in the Hall of Fame just so I don't have to here about it anymore.
Anything to knock the cowboys down, I like it. I was looking at Parcells record, sure he kicked a$$ with the Giants, he took the Pats to the Superbowl, then flaked out and left, he took the Jets the the AFC Championship and then flaked out again. What is he going to do with the cowboys in three years if he doesnt go to the Superbowl, is he going to flake out again. Don't get me wrong I think he is a great coach. I hope Gibbs is ready for the NFL again, and not leave in a couple of years.
This news is unbelievable. I heard about it first on "Sportscenter" this morning and just couldn't believe what I had heard. If Dan Snyder is able to pull this off, it makes up for all of the mistakes and bone-headed moves he has made throughout his duration as franchise owner. By the way, was I the only person who didn't know that Gibbs was a part owner of the Atlanta Falcons??? Wow! This guy took the riches he made as an NFL head coach and parlayed them into NASCAR and the ownership of an NFL team? He may quite possibly be one of the most smartest and admirable individuals in sports! Kudos to D.C.!
I lived in DC during the Gibbs era and he is damn smart. The thing that impressed me the most was his halftime/second half coaching. He always made the right adjustments at halftime and almost always outcoached the other side during the second half. He's won 3 Super Bowls with 3 different QBs. That is incredible. I have no doubt he'll get the maximum effort and if he brings Joe Bugel back as O-line coach they will improve... but he still needs to find a solid QB and considering this team does not have the top to bottom talent his earlier teams did, he needs someone on the up side of Doug Williams and not someone hovering around the Mark Rypien level.
If Brunell doesn't go to the bills I believe he is available. Warner can definately be added as well. Lots of opportunity for a qb this year.
OK, it's been 11 years since this guy has coached. I'll give him all the props he has comming for what he did, but players attitudes have changed a lot. I don't think that he could communicate to todays players like he did back in the day. Plus the game has become more complex since he left. I he had stayed active in the game, with the players he would probably still be a great coach. I just don't think he can relate to the NFL as it is today.
I agree and was thinking the same thing. This is a media stunt and is ridiculous. I thought that the NFL was making it mandatory for each team to interview, in person, a minority for coach. Why arent these teams with coaching vacancies not getting the hammer slammed down on them like the Lions did when they hired Mariucchi? Not that I care but I just do not see the hoopla like last year. As far as Gibbs is concerned, I give it a big who cares.
I am soooo happy to hear that Gibbs is returning as head coach for the Skins! Hopefully he'll be able to bring this team back from the dead to as close a level as the good ole days with Joe Theisman in the air and John Riggins on the ground!! GO SKINS!
Gibbs won't keep people he has to "relate to" for very long. The Gibbs Skins reflected the coach... smart and professional. Dexter Manley and Riggo were the exceptions, but even Dexter faked it well for awhile. He'll let the team have fun, but won't countenance some of the wide receiver type personalities endemic in the league today.
Washington Post Article... ________ Gibbs Returning to Coach Redskins By Mark Maske and Leonard Shapiro Washington Post Staff Writers Wednesday, January 7, 2004; 12:47 PM Joe Gibbs, the legendary coach who led the Washington Redskins to three Super Bowl titles in the 1980s and early '90s, announced today he will return as head coach of the Redskins. "The desire to coach has always been with me, even after being away from the game for 11 years," said Gibbs in a statement released by his NASCAR team, Joe Gibbs Racing, in North Carolina. "After speaking with my wife Pat, we both agreed it would be a thrill to go back. I appreciate Daniel Snyder giving me the opportunity to coach again. But rest assured, I remain personally committed to Joe Gibbs Racing and each and every sponsor who supports the many employees of Joe Gibbs Racing." Gibbs, 63, has agreed to a five-year contract, the statement said. The terms of the agreement were not immediately available, but sources said his contract will contain provisions that will keep Gibbs with the Redskins even after he finishes coaching. Team officials said earlier today they would comment later. Gibbs was expected to be formally introduced as the Redskins new coach at a news conference on Thursday. Gibbs has already been working to assemble a coaching staff, and sources said there was a strong possibility that he would bring in former Buffalo Bills head coach Gregg Williams as defensive coordinator. Williams was a highly successful defensive coordinator for the Tennessee Titans before his three years with the Bills, in which he was 17-31, with a 5-15 mark against AFC East teams. Another of Gibbs's assistant coaches appears likely to be Joe Bugel, his offensive line coach during the team's glory days. Bugel is the former head coach of the Oakland Raiders and Arizona Cardinals and served as an unpaid consultant to the Redskins this season. The Redskins have been looking for a coach since Steve Spurrier resigned eight days ago. Owner Daniel Snyder and vice president of football operations Vinny Cerrato were known to have conducted face-to-face interviews with three other candidates -- former New York Giants coach Jim Fassel, former Minnesota Vikings coach Dennis Green and Seattle Seahawks defensive coordinator Ray Rhodes. Gibbs coached the Redskins between 1981 and '92 and led them to Super Bowl victories following the 1982, '87 and '91 seasons. Gibbs's Redskins also reached the Super Bowl following the 1983 season but lost. He resigned from the Redskins following the 1992 season and has not coached since. He is a minority owner with the Atlanta Falcons and would have to sell his small interest to return to the sideline with the Redskins. He has turned over the vast majority of ownership of his NASCAR racing teams to his sons. The Redskins have reached the playoffs only once since the glory days they enjoyed under Gibbs, late owner Jack Kent Cooke and former general manager Bobby Beathard. They were 12-20 in two seasons under Spurrier. Snyder signed Spurrier, who had amassed 122 victories and a college national championship in 12 seasons at the University of Florida, to a five-year, $25 million contract in January 2002. But Spurrier seemed overmatched by the NFL game and left with three seasons remaining on his contract. The Redskins wanted a proven NFL coach and put Fassel, Green and Rhodes at or near the top of their list. But people around the NFL suspected that Snyder had at least one other unidentified candidate. Gibbs has often said he was quite content operating a NASCAR team and some of his former football associates said last night that they would be surprised to see him return. But he has said in interviews in recent years that his health is good again after deteriorating under the strain of coaching in his final years in the NFL. He also has said that he wanted his grandchildren to know that he did something in sports before NASCAR. With his return, Gibbs hopes to follow the path of Dick Vermeil and Bill Parcells. Vermeil returned to the NFL in 1997 following a 14-year layoff from coaching. He led the St. Louis Rams to a Super Bowl triumph following the '99 season and has the Kansas City Chiefs in the playoffs this season. Parcells, Gibbs's former adversary as the Giants' coach, led the Dallas Cowboys to the playoffs this season after being out of coaching for three seasons. Snyder has had a cordial relationship with Gibbs since purchasing the Redskins in 1999. The Bethesda marketing executive grew up a zealous fan of the team and tried to hire Beathard as his general manager in January 2002 before the deal unraveled at the last minute. Gibbs will be Snyder's fifth head coach following Norv Turner, interim coach Terry Robiskie, Marty Schottenheimer and Spurrier. After leaving football, Gibbs began working in stock-car racing, and he swiftly became one of the most respected owners in NASCAR, breaking through the good-old-boy network and proving himself as a shrewd businessmen who hired the best people and allowed them to do their jobs. He founded Joe Gibbs Racing in 1991, and began competing at the sport's highest level with driver Dale Jarrett in 1992. Jarrett won the sport's premiere event, the Daytona 500, in 1993, in what Gibbs said was equivalent to an expansion team winning the Super Bowl in its second year. It was a swift rise for a football coach in a sport that, a decade ago, was still protected by old-time racers. The strength of Gibbs and his organization, though, showed after Jarrett moved on in 1996. Gibbs, who had wooed Interstate Batteries as a multimillion-dollar sponsor, hired driver Bobby Labonte, then an unknown running in NASCAR's top minor league series. Labonte and Gibbs grew their operation together. In 1999, Gibbs expanded his operation, adding a second race team and hiring the young, flamboyant Tony Stewart as the driver. In a sport that depends largely on sponsorship, he also landed what would become one of the sport's most prominent sponsors, Home Depot. In doing so, Gibbs established an innovative approach to owning teammates in NASCAR, and observers frequently likened it to coaching. Labonte and Stewart competed against each other on the track, but their cars were built in the same shop, the personnel on their teams worked closely together, and all employees of Joe Gibbs Racing shared in bonuses when either driver won a race. The approach brought immediate success. Labonte won the sport's season-long championship -- the Winston Cup -- in 2000, a year after Stewart was named the series' top rookie. In 2002, Stewart won the championship, making Gibbs perhaps the most successful owner in the sport.
