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Gibbs says he hopes to announce complete coaching staff on Monday


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I guess Steve Spurrier Jr. didn't make the cut. :laugh:

Coaching Search Nears Conclusion

01/23/2004

Gibbs Hopes to Announce

Entire Staff On Monday

By Gary Fitzgerald

Redskins.com

Joe Gibbs said he would “dive into” his new job as Redskins head coach—and has he ever. From late-night trips crisscrossing the country to delving into the complicated NFL rules regarding the hiring of assistant coaches from other teams, Gibbs has certainly lived up to his promise.

The hard work is expected to finally pay off Monday when Gibbs hopes to officially announce his entire coaching staff.

“We’re almost finished,” he said. “We have one or two quality control positions left, but I think we’ll be able to announce our coaching staff on Monday.”

Gibbs has said that former Buffalo head coach Gregg Williams and long-time coaching associates Joe Bugel, Don Breaux, Ernie Zampese and Jack Burns will join the staff. Their exact job titles have not yet been finalized, however, because several of the assistant coaches could serve in multiple roles.

Zampese, who is 67 years old and has coached 20 years as an offensive coordinator in the NFL, is expected to serve as an offensive consultant. Gibbs has said Bugel is expected to be assistant head coach and Williams is expected to serve as defensive coordinator—but it’s possible even those title could change depending on the other assistant coaches he brings on board.

Whatever their job titles, Gibbs said his goal was to assemble an experienced coaching staff.

“It takes a lot of experience—almost everyone we have is going to have a ton of NFL experience,” he said. “A number of guys have been coordinators and head coaches. I think we have a good mix. We have some young guys who are very good as what they do. So I think when we announce them, there’ll be a good cross-section of coaches there.”

Gibbs said he was looking for coaches who were primarily good teachers and could relate well to players.

“For the players, the most important thing for them to say is they want to go in and spend time with coaches knowing that [coaches] want them to be their absolute best,” he said. “We want that kind of spirit.”

On how much the coaching experience of Gregg Williams will aid him as he transitions back into the NFL:

“Gregg is a very meticulous note-taker. He understands every single aspect of the rules in the offseason and what you can do. Basically it’s neat having his calendar back there because you can see what [the Bills] did in the offseason. I’d say all of that is invaluable for me. It really helps having someone well-organized like that. It’s just been terrific.”

On whether his role will be different given the experience of the coaching staff:

“Actually, I think my role will probably be real close. I don’t picture myself doing anything different from what I did the first time. I’m going to spend a lot of time with the offense. Predominantly, my role will be pretty much the same. I told the defensive guys, that I’m going to give them all the support they need, I’m going to watch them in practice and talk about them all the time, and then during the game, I’m going to just say ‘Stop ‘em.’ That’s what I always said to [former Redskins defensive coordinator] Richie Petitbon: ‘Stop ‘em.’”

On whether coaches on the previous staff were considered:

“I’m sure they had excellent coaches on the other staff. It’s just that I was fixed on trying to get certain guys in our group. None of those guys seemed to fit in with what I was trying to get. It had nothing to do with them and it doesn’t reflect on them—it was just the kind of people I chose to go after.”

On why the search for a wide receivers coach has taken longer than other coaching positions:

“The list we had and some of the people we wanted to talk to—they were involved in recruiting. It was kind of a timing issue.”

On whether he has spoken with any more of his players yet:

“No. A couple players have come around here. We’re going in now and we’re going to do a schedule [to meet with them]. It’ll probably be piecemeal until we can get together for the first time. We’re looking at what the best time will be for us to have our first mini-camp, get the players together and kind of get our game plan going.”

On whether he’s surprised that today’s players aren’t more eager to meet their new head coach:

“I don’t know that it’s different. I think in some cases a lot of them are getting a break. They’re away from here. I don’t think any of them are going to come and volunteer to work out. I think that’s part of it. It’s probably an individual thing. I’m sure some of the guys will start to drift in. I haven’t been here that much. So even if they try to meet me, I’ve been in and out. They’re probably waiting for [the coaching staff] to get settled down, too.”

On whether he’s been able to look at the defensive unit on game film and evaluate defensive players:

“We’ve looked at several offensive films. We’re getting ready Monday to start on the defensive stuff. The other thing I want to get ready for is the mini-camp. Many times, getting the chance to spend three days with players, it’s totally different than looking at film. There have already been surprises looking at film. I’m looking at film and saying, ‘Hey look, this guy might fit in at a certain spot for us.’ <<<[i guess he was refering to Rock Cartwright here, who might fit in as an H-back. You hear that Blondie? :laugh:] So it’s kind of a process and it takes a while. It’s too early.”

On when the first mini-camp will be held:

“I think it’s going to be early. We’ll come out with a schedule, but I want to get to it early.”

On whether he’s started to focus on the draft:

“I think you’re always thinking about it. We have a top pick. There’ll probably be a list of 12-15 guys we’ll be studying. Our guys just got back from the Senior Bowl and we’re talking about what we saw down there. It’s much harder today. When I was involved back in 1991 and 1992, a lot of the guys at the combine didn’t work out and didn’t go to the Senior Bowl, so you had to go chase them down at their home. That hasn’t changed much.”

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this is the most experienced coaching staff I have ever seen :)

on defense you have THREE former coordinators in Williams, Blache and Lindsey.

on offense you have one of the greatest OL coaches in history in Joe Bugel and two of the most creative playcallers in Gibbs and Zampese.

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Originally posted by bulldog

this is the most experienced coaching staff I have ever seen :)

on defense you have THREE former coordinators in Williams, Blache and Lindsey.

on offense you have one of the greatest OL coaches in history in Joe Bugel and two of the most creative playcallers in Gibbs and Zampese.

Plus three former OC in Zampese, Gibbs, and Breaux.

And three former HC in Williams, Bugel and Gibbs. :)

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Originally posted by scottb

Without a cap on coaching salaries, Snyder was finally able to leverage his money to obtain a real advantage over the other NFL teams. Looks like he's helped Gibbs in the best way he could.. Good going Dan.

Yes, good start. After the draft is over, Dan should rework the scouting staff that Vinny put together last summer. There is no cap on scouting salaries either. We should use the same approach that Joe used with the coaching staff. Get the best scouting director (probably not Vinny) and the best scouting staff that we can find, guys with as much scouting experience as we have on the coaching staff. We should have scouts at every pro game and more college games than any other team. That would guarantee that we could find talent that no other team could see.

I think Gibbs' experience at running a big (200 people) NASCAR team will be a big help in righting the Redskin ship in all respects. I'd like to see Joe organizing the whole show, FO and coaching. Maybe after he has been here 5 years and develops a good head coaching candidate, he can turn over the coaching to others and run the FO. I have great confidence in his ability to organize a team (too bad he's not the owner).

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