harryskin Posted January 16, 2004 Share Posted January 16, 2004 http://washingtontimes.com/sports/20040115-112529-5440r.htm Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tarhog Posted January 16, 2004 Share Posted January 16, 2004 Right-hand man By Mark Zuckerman THE WASHINGTON TIMES Joe Gibbs' coaching buddies from his first stint with the Washington Redskins — Joe Bugel, Don Breaux and Jack Burns — drew plenty of attention when they agreed to rejoin Gibbs and the team last week. They were front and center at Gibbs' introductory news conference, and their photos and quotes were plastered all over airwaves and newspapers. Gibbs' other notable hire, defensive coordinator Gregg Williams, has kept a much lower profile — one week into his new job, he has yet to speak to reporters. Make no mistake, though: There may have been no more significant addition to Gibbs' coaching staff than Williams, one of the most highly regarded defensive minds in the NFL. "I felt like that was one of our key hires," Gibbs said yesterday. "Obviously getting that side of the ball squared away with someone who can handle it and is a seasoned veteran, I think is a big deal." Williams, 45, is certainly the best-paid defensive mind in the game. The $1.8 million he'll earn as Washington's defensive coordinator in 2004 is $800,000 more than he made as the Buffalo Bills' head coach in 2003. The Redskins and Gibbs never doubted Williams' worth. Within hours after agreeing to return to the Redskins, Gibbs boarded owner Dan Snyder's private plane, took off for Buffalo and locked up Williams. "That was good because I think everyone that had a vacancy at that point was lined up to talk to Gregg," Gibbs said. "That's the reason I jumped on the plane and headed there. I don't think I got home the next morning 'til 5:30 or 6. But I thought it was real important. We went to the house, we had dinner late, we talked things over and we were able to work something out that night. I thought that was a big deal." Sequestered in his office at Redskin Park since the moment he arrived in town, Williams has been working non-stop to assemble a staff of assistants while at the same time attempting to learn all about his newly inherited players. It's that latter task that will prove crucial to Williams' metamorphosis from coach of the Bills to defensive coordinator of the Redskins. Those who have worked with and coached against Williams cite his ability to adapt to the players he is given as one of his greatest strengths. "He's very bright, very detail-oriented, very demanding," said Floyd Reese, general manager of the Tennessee Titans, where Williams spent 11 seasons in various coaching roles. "He can appear to be almost harsh with the players he's coaching. There is no doubt about what he wants." Though his record as an NFL coach (17-31 in three seasons with the Bills) wasn't much, Williams' reputation as a defensive coordinator is solid. He directed the Titans to the league's No. 1 ranking in 2000, besting even the Baltimore Ravens' Super Bowl squad that some consider the best defense ever assembled. This season, his Buffalo defense ranked second in the NFL to the Dallas Cowboys. Williams did this despite having different personnel strengths in the two cities. In Tennessee, he had a strong defensive line and great safeties, allowing him to run an aggressive 4-3 defense that relied heavily on the blitz. In Buffalo, he did not have the same talent up front and adapted, utilizing more "Cover 2" schemes and zone blitzes. Followers of the Bills say Williams had 16 different defensive packages in his arsenal this season. "He did add some things this year from what they had been doing," said Norv Turner, offensive coordinator in Miami and former Redskins coach. "That's what this league is about. If you stand pat, other teams will catch up to what you do. You have to do a lot of work to match up against him." Along with his strengths as a game strategist, Williams also has been praised for his relationships with players. At times demanding, at times loving, he has earned the respect of nearly every player he's coached. "What sets him apart was the ability to kick a player's butt and pat him on the back — and the player understands it all," Reese said. "If he wants you to do this blitz, he'll tell every person on the defense exactly how he wants it done, to the step. If you do it right, you get the hug. If not, you get the foot. "The thing I liked, when he was on the ballfield, it was a serious, serious time. You can laugh, and that will go on, but everybody knows it's time to work. There's not a lot of horseplay." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Leonard Washington Posted January 16, 2004 Share Posted January 16, 2004 my kinda guy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OURYEAR#56 Posted January 16, 2004 Share Posted January 16, 2004 Do you guiys think he's the next Redskins Coach after Gibbs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phat Hog Posted January 16, 2004 Share Posted January 16, 2004 Code... you happy? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NavyDave Posted January 16, 2004 Share Posted January 16, 2004 Either him or Buges Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jimbo Posted January 16, 2004 Share Posted January 16, 2004 I think we definitely got the right guy. Now if we can give him some more quality assistants. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Om Posted January 16, 2004 Share Posted January 16, 2004 Seems to me this is THE key guy for the next year or two. We know JG will squeeze as much out of the offense as can be realisitically expected ... but what we don't really know yet is if Williams can play Petitbone and give the O the support it's going to need until it fully meshes. Gonna be watching every move this man makes for a while, because I have a funny feeling that -- in the near term anyway -- as he goes, so will go this team. As to who succeeds Gibbs ... let's not even go there for a while. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OrangeSkin Posted January 17, 2004 Share Posted January 17, 2004 The most exciting thing about this guy that I've heard thusfar is that he's masterful at molding his schemes to fit his players. We've had so many system oriented guys here over the years, specifically Lewis and Edwards, who refused to bend and it hurt our defense in turn. We have tremendous talent on the defensive side of the ball and Williams sounds like the ideal guy to utilize it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
steve57 Posted January 17, 2004 Share Posted January 17, 2004 Originally posted by OURYEAR#56 Do you guiys think he's the next Redskins Coach after Gibbs. Since Gibbs came on board, I've been looking for the guy in waiting among the new staff. That's why I keep waiting on the news on Grimm, or some other wunderkind brought in to work under Gibbs' wing for the next few years, until Joe goes upstairs. Then there's Williams right under my nose the whole time. I doubt anything specific has been said -- probably nothing was said, but it is interesting that Williams agreed to Joe's offer so quickly. He looked at the Skins situation, and Joe maybe worked to ambiguous language into his pitch.... Sure. It could happen, but it's a long term maybe. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joe Sick Posted January 17, 2004 Share Posted January 17, 2004 I don't know about him being the man to succeed Gibbs. I would just like to know he is going to be around here for at least 3 years. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Om Posted January 17, 2004 Share Posted January 17, 2004 Before we DO annoint Williams as the head coach in waiting, we might want to take a quick gander at his success record in that capacity. The man didn't just get fired for being great. And as for how quickly he signed ... two thoughts. One, he gets to land on his feet after being fired immediatly and work for none other than HOF Joe Gibbs, and two, he's also being paid $1.8 million to be a DC, which happens to be MORE than he made as head coach. Thus endeth my initial Bah Humbug Post of the day. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
laurent Posted January 17, 2004 Share Posted January 17, 2004 Originally posted by Om And as for how quickly he signed ... two thoughts. One, he gets to land on his feet after being fired immediatly and work for none other than HOF Joe Gibbs, and two, he's also being paid $1.8 million to be a DC, which happens to be MORE than he made as head coach. Thus endeth my initial Bah Humbug Post of the day. Hopefully those $1.8 million will remove any incentive for him to start looking for a new headcoaching job anytime soon. It's about time we get somebody in here for more than just a frickin year. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Om Posted January 17, 2004 Share Posted January 17, 2004 That's one of the nicer things about the hire, Laurent. For the first time in as long as I can remember, the Redskins have a DC both unquestionably qualified for the job AND more likely than not to be here for a few seasons. Considering the revolving door there for the last half dozen years, that's a damn nice turn of events. Hell, if I didn't think it'd jinx us ... I'd say the Karma Meter around here has at long last edged back into the black. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
atloldskin Posted January 17, 2004 Share Posted January 17, 2004 Lets see how he does with the defense first, but he could succeed Joe at least five years from now. Synder knows one thing--coaches salaries don't count against the cap, therefore we should have Williams here for as long as we want him! And we need a no-nonsense, detailed orieted, attack DC. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
a_good_brotha Posted January 17, 2004 Share Posted January 17, 2004 Originally posted by OURYEAR#56 Do you guiys think he's the next Redskins Coach after Gibbs. I think Joe Bugel will be his successor. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
terpfan44 Posted January 17, 2004 Share Posted January 17, 2004 if success comes immediately...and it should...There will not be enough money or point in holding Williams down...the demand for a Head Coach for a top organization comes up every season...but also he makes more here than 65% of all Head coaches make...so go figure...success will dictate the future.:eaglesuck Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Om Posted January 17, 2004 Share Posted January 17, 2004 My gut tells me Williams is no less than three years away from being considered a head coach prospect, again. His failure with Buffalo wasn't very pretty, and there will be other "hot" assistants over the next few years who have NOT yet failed once that will get a look before he does again. Plus, the majority of the credit for any success the Skins achieve over the next couple of years is going to go - fairly or not - to Gibbs. I don't think Williams will be able to separate himself from the Gibbs shadow for a good 3 years or so ... unless his defense does something just stupid, like lead the league for the first two seasons or something. Gee, THAT would suck. Bottom line, for me ... unless something freakish happens, I think Williams is in the fold here through the 2006 season at least. And that's just one more thing that has me smiling these days. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Heavy Jumbo Posted January 17, 2004 Share Posted January 17, 2004 One of the reasons I like Williams: he's already been a head coach. That will keep him here for about 3 to 4 seasons (Unlike Lewis). With this salary and his reputation as a head coach, we'll have him for a little while. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sonny Joe Hog Posted January 17, 2004 Share Posted January 17, 2004 Originally posted by OURYEAR#56 Do you guiys think he's the next Redskins Coach after Gibbs. I think that Russ Grimm was and may still be that man. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joey T Posted January 18, 2004 Share Posted January 18, 2004 I think Williams failure @ Buffalo = the O factor. Bledsoe (d@mn, I'm glad Snyder didn't go after him) was/is not the answer. He has less mobility than Ramsay, plus he's years older. Price going to Atlanta did not help. A signifacant part of their O/L (Rueben Brown) decided not to take part in the latter stages of the season. Using their #1 draft pick on a crippled RB did not help. Etc........... All of this is Donohoe's responsibility, not Williams. The Bills D was excellent. I can only hope the 'Skins D will exemplify what the Bills D accomplished last season. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Johnny Punani2 Posted January 18, 2004 Share Posted January 18, 2004 What I would like to know is how he is going to use Lavar... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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