Assessing Gibbs 2.0

Greensboro, NC -- When Joe Gibbs stepped down as the President and Head Coach of the Redskins last week, the natural inclination was to compare his second stint to the Hall-of-Fame first go-around. Coming off of a disastrous 5-11 season in 2003 under The Ol' Ball Coach, the first objective after signing a 5-year, $27.5M contract was to build his coaching staff. Knowing that there's no salary cap for coaches (and the Redskins take full advantage of that every year), Gibbs hired "Double G" Gregg Williams to coach up the D and old pal "Buges" Joe Bugel to restore the offensive line. Obtaining a power running back in Clinton Portis, a tackling machine at linebacker in Marcus Washington, and a premier cornerback in Shawn Springs was next on the agenda. The 2003 roster needed a major shake-up to clean out Spurrier's fun n' gun players.

Gibbs' record during his 4 seasons:

• 6-10
• 10-6
• 5-11
• 9-7

I think the 5-11 2006 season was a fluke. The defense regressed so dramatically. The Skins were also in a quarterback transition from Brunell to the youngster Jason Campbell. But look at the players that were acquired by Gibbs:

Draft

S. Taylor, C. Cooley, J. Campbell, R. McIntosh, C. Rogers, L. Landry

Free Agents

L. Fletcher, C. Rabach, A. Randle El, S. Springs, M. Washington

Trades

C. Portis, P. Kendall, S. Moss

I seriously though Gibbs would stay for the five years that he refers to each offseason. Turning down a 2-year extension wasn't a big deal; it was a sign that 2008 would be his last year. But all fairy tales must come to an end. I was told that his grandson, Taylor, is ferociously battling leukemia, and if something were to happen to him this fall, it would put Gibbs in a major bind. So, don't blame Joe for walking out a year early. Let's just tag the line to him what the Cowboys said about Parcells: "He left the refrigerator full of groceries."