Why the Washington Redskins Will Miss Joe Gibbs
The Washington Redskins are going to miss Joe Gibbs. Jim Zorn is turning out to be one of the funniest head coaches in the league, what with his incoherent way of speaking and love of Washington rivers, but Gibbs had something few other coaches could claim.
Old school clout.
Bill Parcells and Joe Gibbs were and always will be NFC East football. They were the last of the the coaches tied to the football of the 60’s and 70’s, where missing an open field tackle on Sundays left you looking for a new team on Monday. Gibbs brought discipline and a low-tolerence for mistakes throughout his two tours in Washington, but last year’s coaching job might have been the most masterful.
The death of their best player, countless injuries, and the media circling FedEx Field waiting for a drastic move from Daniel Snyder could’ve decimated the franchise. Not just the season, but the scope of the franchise. Were it not for Joe Gibbs, players could’ve not only tanked their season in an emotional undertow, but they could have changed their focus and desire on football.
But Joe Gibbs’ faith and presence over the team held steady, and resulted in an emotional push throughout the final quarter of the regular season. While the end result was an emotionally and physically-spent Redskins club falling in the latter stages of its playoff game, the theme of perseverance was never as strong in any other sport.
All of that is what Joe Gibbs brought last year. And now, its gone.
The Redskins will be a decent offensive club this year, and if they come out with at least three wins in the first quarter of the season, they will be a favorite in the NFC. But the mental tenacity and grace under pressure that got them here has retired, and that may mean a lot in the latter stages of the season, and beyond.
Comments
By Truth About It Dot Net on July 28th, 2008 at 11:11 am
But you know what….hopefully a lot of the vets and younger players learned a lot about how to conduct themselves from Coach Gibbs. He may be gone, but surely he has left something behind.
I know I will not be missing the multitude of plays which involved running the ball straight up the gut.
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