WT:Ability to handle players was key

[TK]

http://www.washtimes.com/sports/20040107-111715-8041r.htm

Ability to handle players was key

By David Elfin

THE WASHINGTON TIMES

The numbers are wondrous in themselves: three championships, four Super Bowl berths, eight playoff appearances and 140 victories in 12 seasons.

Those who played for Joe Gibbs during the Hall of Fame coach's first stint with the Redskins said all that success was built on his ability to handle men.

The iconoclastic John Riggins, the egocentric Joe Theismann, the moody Wilber Marshall or the irrepressible Dexter Manley might have been a problem for other coaches, but they all starred for Gibbs.

"The best thing I saw Joe do is figure out how to keep everybody happy," said Doug Williams, the quarterback of Gibbs' Super Bowl XXII champions. "When Joe had Gary Clark, Art Monk and Ricky Sanders, he had three Pro Bowl caliber receivers, three guys that wanted the football. Joe found a way to make sure that each of those guys had seven plays called for them that made sure they had an equal opportunity to make plays."

That applied to stars and journeymen alike.

At his Hall of Fame induction in 1996, Gibbs didn't single out Monk, Riggins or cornerback Darrell Green for credit. Rather, the coach cited such special teamers as Otis Wonsley, Greg Williams and Pete Cronan for their roles in helping him achieve immortality.

"Even if you were a superstar, everyone was basically equal," former guard Mark Schlereth said. "Joe didn't have a set of rules for a superstar as opposed to everyone else."

Gibbs' rules resulted in victory regardless of who was in the backfield.

In the Gibbs era, the role players stayed and his quarterback and running back changed — a marked difference from other dominant teams such Vince Lombardi's Green Bay Packers, Don Shula's Miami Dolphins, Chuck Noll's Pittsburgh Steelers, the Dallas Cowboys of Tom Landry and Jimmy Johnson and Bill Walsh's San Francisco 49ers.

No other coach has won three Super Bowls with three quarterbacks, as Gibbs did with Theismann, Williams and Mark Rypien.

Former defensive end Charles Mann said Gibbs' players didn't want to let down a coach so driven that he slept in his Redskin Park office two or three nights a week during the season.

Or as ex-safety Brad Edwards put it, "Joe made you feel that he would go to the wall for you, and so you did the same for him."

But Gibbs wasn't as soft as his often gentle manner and his deep feelings for players and their families indicated.

"Joe knew football is a bottom-line business and that if you didn't produce, you had better look for another job," Edwards said.

Gibbs also was a master in his preparations during the week and his adjustments during games. Bill Parcells, who has taken three clubs to the Super Bowl and made his own successful return to the NFC East this season, said yesterday that Gibbs is the best coach he ever faced.

"There was no second-guessing with Joe's game plans," said former offensive tackle Joe Jacoby, a Redskin throughout Gibbs' tenure. "We were always prepared on Sundays, and then he and his staff would make terrific adjustments at halftime."

Williams said those factors will have major benefits for 24-year-old quarterback Patrick Ramsey.

"Joe Gibbs gave me an opportunity and he gave me a great offense," said Williams, now coach at Grambling. "It wasn't just my ability to play. It was the people around me and the system. The happiest guy in the world should be Patrick Ramsey."

Other than Redskins owner Dan Snyder and the team's long-suffering fans.

• Staff writer Bob Cohn contributed to this report.

[TK]

http://www.washtimes.com/sports/20040107-111715-8041r.htm

Ability to handle players was key

By David Elfin

THE WASHINGTON TIMES

The numbers are wondrous in themselves: three championships, four Super Bowl berths, eight playoff appearances and 140 victories in 12 seasons.

Those who played for Joe Gibbs during the Hall of Fame coach's first stint with the Redskins said all that success was built on his ability to handle men.

The iconoclastic John Riggins, the egocentric Joe Theismann, the moody Wilber Marshall or the irrepressible Dexter Manley might have been a problem for other coaches, but they all starred for Gibbs.

"The best thing I saw Joe do is figure out how to keep everybody happy," said Doug Williams, the quarterback of Gibbs' Super Bowl XXII champions. "When Joe had Gary Clark, Art Monk and Ricky Sanders, he had three Pro Bowl caliber receivers, three guys that wanted the football. Joe found a way to make sure that each of those guys had seven plays called for them that made sure they had an equal opportunity to make plays."

That applied to stars and journeymen alike.

At his Hall of Fame induction in 1996, Gibbs didn't single out Monk, Riggins or cornerback Darrell Green for credit. Rather, the coach cited such special teamers as Otis Wonsley, Greg Williams and Pete Cronan for their roles in helping him achieve immortality.

"Even if you were a superstar, everyone was basically equal," former guard Mark Schlereth said. "Joe didn't have a set of rules for a superstar as opposed to everyone else."

Gibbs' rules resulted in victory regardless of who was in the backfield.

In the Gibbs era, the role players stayed and his quarterback and running back changed — a marked difference from other dominant teams such Vince Lombardi's Green Bay Packers, Don Shula's Miami Dolphins, Chuck Noll's Pittsburgh Steelers, the Dallas Cowboys of Tom Landry and Jimmy Johnson and Bill Walsh's San Francisco 49ers.

No other coach has won three Super Bowls with three quarterbacks, as Gibbs did with Theismann, Williams and Mark Rypien.

Former defensive end Charles Mann said Gibbs' players didn't want to let down a coach so driven that he slept in his Redskin Park office two or three nights a week during the season.

Or as ex-safety Brad Edwards put it, "Joe made you feel that he would go to the wall for you, and so you did the same for him."

But Gibbs wasn't as soft as his often gentle manner and his deep feelings for players and their families indicated.

"Joe knew football is a bottom-line business and that if you didn't produce, you had better look for another job," Edwards said.

Gibbs also was a master in his preparations during the week and his adjustments during games. Bill Parcells, who has taken three clubs to the Super Bowl and made his own successful return to the NFC East this season, said yesterday that Gibbs is the best coach he ever faced.

"There was no second-guessing with Joe's game plans," said former offensive tackle Joe Jacoby, a Redskin throughout Gibbs' tenure. "We were always prepared on Sundays, and then he and his staff would make terrific adjustments at halftime."

Williams said those factors will have major benefits for 24-year-old quarterback Patrick Ramsey.

"Joe Gibbs gave me an opportunity and he gave me a great offense," said Williams, now coach at Grambling. "It wasn't just my ability to play. It was the people around me and the system. The happiest guy in the world should be Patrick Ramsey."

Other than Redskins owner Dan Snyder and the team's long-suffering fans.

• Staff writer Bob Cohn contributed to this report.