WT:The return: 'Like hitting the Powerball number'

TK · January 8, 2004

http://www.washtimes.com/sports/20040107-111736-2450r.htm

The return: 'Like hitting the Powerball number'

By Bob Cohn

THE WASHINGTON TIMES

No matter how success is defined, Joe Gibbs achieved it as coach of the Washington Redskins from 1981 through 1992. But that's history. To quote another legendary Redskins coach, George Allen, the future is now. And the only thing that matters now is whether Gibbs can do it again.

The overwhelming consensus is that he can and he will, even though many elements of the game, notably free agency and the salary cap, have changed significantly; even though Gibbs returns as a not so young man of 63.

"Joe Gibbs will succeed because he is the best at what he does, no matter what he does," former Redskins offensive tackle Mark May said. "He'll bring accountability to a football team that hasn't had any in a long time. He'll bring credibility. Joe Gibbs coming back is like hitting the Powerball number. When he steps into a room, instant respect."

May is an ESPN commentator, a Redskin at heart and a Hog for life. So is former guard Mark Schlereth, and both are as excited about the return of offensive line coach Joe Bugel as they are about Gibbs. Schlereth has been a vocal, on-air critic of the Redskins organization. Until now.

"With the salary cap and all the money, it's more important than ever to be a great teacher in this league, and it's more important to be a guy that your players want to rally around," Schlereth said. "[Gibbs] is one of the greatest who has ever coached. People always talk about continuity and stability, but Joe really did provide those things."

Schlereth said the hiring wiped clean a lot of the bad feelings, largely because Gibbs' qualities as a coach and a man can withstand his 11-year absence from the game.

"The words integrity and character get thrown around a lot with a majority of coaches when it benefits them," Schlereth said. "But Joe is who he is 24 hours a day, seven days a week. He's still compassionate. He's still a gracious man. But he still demands a lot. As a player you always knew where you stood. ... All you want is to be dealt with honestly, and that's what Joe Gibbs does."

Can Gibbs handle change? An oft-cited fact to the positive is that his teams won three Super Bowls with three quarterbacks. One was Doug Williams, who threw four touchdown passes against Denver in the second quarter of Super Bowl XXII, won by the Redskins 42-10.

"I think Joe Gibbs could be their stabilizer," said Williams, now the football coach at Grambling State. "He'll give them a lot of stability. I don't think the game has changed as much as the scenario, the movement of players, the fact the talent won't be there more than three, four or five years because of the salary cap and free agency.

"But even though he's older, I think Coach is smart enough to put smart people around him. I don't think his age will affect anything. This game is about people, too, and Joe Gibbs always found a way to deal with what he had to deal with."

Can Gibbs handle change? Even before he left football he was starting to shift gears, so to speak. He ventured into the world of motorsports and founded the Joe Gibbs Racing Team.

"My sense is that Joe will be successful because he has a history of success in different arenas, and because he knows football," former Redskins safety Brad Edwards said. "Joe knows how to run the ball. He'll put together a good staff. And he knows how to run a practice. In an age of parity, that will make a big difference."

Broadcaster and former Redskins tight end Rick "Doc" Walker said Gibbs "went after NASCAR and he conquered it." And when the concept of Plan B free agency was introduced, Walker said, Gibbs mastered that, too.

"He's a very organized football man who understands teamwork," Walker said. "He understands the men who play the game. He's a master of bringing in the best people at every position. His staff will be a work of art. He's so far ahead of the curve in this egocentric society we live in because he puts winning first and backs it up with hard work."

Indeed, few coaches worked as hard as Joe Gibbs, who frequently slept in his office. The relentless grind helped prompt his sudden retirement. But those who know Gibbs readily bring up Bill Parcells and Dick Vermeil when the subject of age is mentioned. In his first year as coach of the Dallas Cowboys, Parcells at 62 led his fourth different team to the playoffs, an unparalleled feat.

It should be fun seeing Parcells and Gibbs go at it again.

"I said when he retired that Joe was the best coach I'd ever faced," Parcells said. "I have great respect for his ability. I don't think the time that he has spent away from the game will have any effect at all."

Vermeil, who popularized the word "burnout" when he quit the Philadelphia Eagles in 1982, sat out 14 years before returning to the NFL as coach of the St. Louis Rams. After the 1999 season, the Rams won the Super Bowl. Vermeil was 64. Then he retired again. A year later he became coach of the Kansas City Chiefs, who play Indianapolis in an AFC division playoff game Sunday.

Vermeil said Gibbs will go through an adjustment period.

"Your first year back is a little bit of a shock," Vermeil said. "You start recognizing quickly how much you forgot. Then you start to realize quickly how much the game has progressed since you last coached. It took me awhile to do that. I'm sure it'll take Joe awhile to do that."

But like everyone else, Vermeil said Gibbs will do well. Asked if he thinks today's players will have trouble adjusting to Gibbs, Vermeil replied, "Joe Gibbs is Joe Gibbs. They'll adjust to him."

Said former Redskins defensive end Charles Mann: "Joe Gibbs has been away for 11 years, and the game is different than the one he left. But what hasn't changed is that Joe is a great discerner of people and a great motivator. ... He'll have a 10 a.m. meeting every day where he'll be brainwashing the players, and they won't even know they're being brainwashed."

Gibbs, said Doug Williams, "seems to know how to deal with any personality he needs to."

Daryl "Moose" Johnston, a fullback for the Dallas Cowboys back when the Redskins-Cowboys rivalry meant something, said he does not expect Gibbs to lose a step.

"I think he's going to do great," said Johnston, who frequently saw the Redskins this season while doing commentary for Fox. "I think today in the NFL that old-school coach probably fits as well as ever. You have the success Parcells has had in Dallas, you look what Vermeil has done in St. Louis and Kansas City, and I see no reason Joe Gibbs can't get the Redskins to the same level."

Johnston was asked what he remembers most about playing a Gibbs-coached Redskins team.

"Physical," he replied without hesitating. "You were always sore after the Redskins game. And they were well-coached. They didn't give you a lot. You had to take things from them. They're not going to miss a coverage or leave a gaping hole. You had to earn everything. That wasn't the case last year, but they will be much more assignment-true under Joe Gibbs and [new defensive coordinator] Gregg Williams."

Yet another strength of Gibbs is his ability to strategize, to devise a solid game plan that results from countless hours of preparation, yet also can be adjusted.

"Number one, he gives the organization direction and he gives it some discipline," said ESPN's Joe Theismann, who flourished as a quarterback under Gibbs. "He has a great ability to lead. But the essence of Joe Gibbs is what he does on Sundays. He's a great game-day coach. He does a terrific job of adjusting at halftimes, and he did a great job of preparing all his teams.

"The things that Joe believed in and the system that Joe ran on offense still are successful today in football, and that would tend me to believe I think he'll have a lot of success. I think if the Redskins don't win 10 football games next year, I'll really be surprised."

• Staff writer David Elfin contributed to this report.

TK · January 8, 2004