Then Gibbs Said to Riggins: The Best Washington Redskins Stories Ever Told - Hardcover

Gehman, Jim

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 1600782701 ISBN 13: 9781600782701

Verlag: Triumph Books, 2009

Inhaltsangabe

Written for every sports fan who follows the Redskins, this account goes behind the scenes to peek into the private world of the players, coaches, and decision makers&;all while eavesdropping on their personal conversations. From the Washington locker room to the sidelines and inside the huddle, the book includes stories about Sammy Baugh, Vince Lombardi, and Jim Zorn, among others, allowing readers to relive the highlights and the celebrations.

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Über die Autorin bzw. den Autor

Jim Gehman is a writer for the Philadelphia Eagles website and Eagles Insider and is a contributing writer for Dallas Cowboys Star Magazine. He is a former columnist for Patriots Football Weekly and a former freelance writer with American Sports Media, where his work appeared regularly in the company's Warpath!, Shout!, and Silver & Black Illustrated publications. He concentrates on writing NFL alumni articles and has written "Where are They Now?" and "Flashback" features for the Buffalo Bills and the San Francisco 49ers websites, as well as for NFL.com. He is the author of "Then Levy Said to Kelly. . ." He lives in Wyoming, New York. Mark Moseley is a former NFL placekicker for the Washington Redskins, a Super Bowl champion, and the only kicker to win the NFL MVP Award.

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Here is your chance to go inside the huddle, head into the locker room, or grab a seat on the sideline. This is your exclusive pass to get on the team plane or have beakfast at the team hotel. Go behind the scenes and peek into the private world of the players, coaches, and decision makers and eavesdrop on their conversations.

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Then Gibbs Said to Riggins

By Jim Gehman

Triumph Books

Copyright © 2009 Jim Gehman
All rights reserved.

ISBN: 978-1-60078-270-1

Contents

Foreword by Mark Moseley, 
Acknowledgments, 
Introduction, 
1. Joe Gibbs: Three Super Bowl Titles, One Hall of Fame Bust, 
2. Coachspeak, 
3. Super Bowl Sundays, 
4. "Slingin' Sammy", 
5. Washington's Field Generals, 
6. Moving the Chains, 
7. Slants, Curls, and Going Deep!, 
8. Owning the Line of Scrimmage, 
9. Fondest Memories, 
10. Stunts, Swim Moves, and Sacks, 
11. Tackles, Hits, and Blitzes, 
12. Secondary to None, 
13. Called "Special" for a Reason, 
14. Inside the Beltway, 
Sources, 
Photo Gallery, 

CHAPTER 1

Joe Gibbs: Three Super Bowl Titles, One Hall of Fame Bust

They Hired Joe Who?

There is no question that Joe Gibbs paid his dues!

After beginning his career in 1964 as a graduate assistant at his alma mater, San Diego State, Gibbs would go on to coach the offensive line and running backs, and be an offensive coordinator at Florida State, USC, and Arkansas before joining Don Coryell's staff with the NFL's St. Louis Cardinals in 1973. After five seasons under the arch, it was on to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and then to the San Diego Chargers.

Seventeen years!

But when Jack Kent Cooke named him the head coach of the Redskins on January 13, 1981, Washington's fans and even some of its players asked, "Who is he?"

Gibbs tried to answer that question a few weeks after replacing Jack Pardee during an interview with the Washington Post. "Everyone is trying to put together what I'm like. They want to get a feel for the type of person I am," said Gibbs. "But I'm just trying to be myself. I think that comes over pretty quickly. Ultimately, the most important effect I'll have on this world is not how many games I win, but the kind of relationships I have with people. People interest me. I would have to be in some kind of people business if I wasn't coaching. But I'm convinced I am here in this world to do the job I'm doing."

Some of the Redskins players, a veteran-laden team since George Allen began patrolling Washington's sideline in 1971, wondered if they would have a job. Or would the new coach clean house after the team had gone 6–10 the previous season and missed the playoffs for the fourth consecutive year?

"I know people are waiting to see what I do and how I conduct myself. Anyone who forms an opinion about me before I can start doing my job is doing everyone a disservice," Gibbs said. "People have a misconception about this whole situation. I'm not going into this feeling I have to cut older players. That's not how it's going to work. I've been warned that the heart of this team, the veterans, were worried that I was coming in here to get rid of them. But I'm selfish. I don't care if a guy is 20 or 50, if he can play, I'm keeping him. I just want players who want the team to win as badly as I do.

"Age will never be the single determining factor in cutting a player. It will be weighed, of course, along with a lot of other things. I want what is best for the team now and in the future."

Gibbs was confident about the team's future and shelved any speculation that there would be problems between him and general manager Bobby Beathard, who had reportedly clashed with Pardee.

"I am in charge of two things a coach has to be in charge of," said Gibbs. "I hire the staff and I determine the roster. If you don't have those powers, it won't work, and I have them here. The draft is another sticky situation at a lot of places because the coach says he has to have say over the players who could get him fired. Here, Bobby heads the draft, but we are going to have input. The assistant coaches are going to work out the possible prospects, and it will be talked over by everyone, so when we take a guy, we can all live with it.

"I've been involved in three different pro situations. At Tampa Bay, John McKay determined everything. At St. Louis, management had the power. At San Diego, it was shared between the coach and the general manager. Here, it's slightly different because of Bobby's input into the draft. But it's enough like the Chargers to convince me it will be a success. The Chargers are winners, and we will be, too."

"I'm a Washington Redskin"

Given his reputation for having a steadfast work ethic, Joe Gibbs could have worked laying tracks for the first transcontinental railroad in an earlier life.

That, along with the unquestioned leadership he displayed as the head coach of the Redskins for 12 seasons, from 1981 to 1992, and the success that the team earned and enjoyed during that period — eight playoff appearances and three Super Bowl championships — who else would team owner Daniel Snyder have asked to perform the Heimlich on his suffocating franchise in 2004?

But why would Gibbs want to return to Washington? Why even remotely risk tarnishing his Hall of Fame career?

"My decision to return to coaching after 12 years away was the result of a long process of reflection, prayer, and discussion with my family. This was a huge step, and I was well aware of the challenge. It was daunting, to say the least," Gibbs wrote in Hail Redskins. "But when I returned to Redskin Park on January 8, 2004, any doubts I might have had about the wisdom of my decision were put to rest. That was the day I was introduced — for the second time — as head coach of the Washington Redskins."

During the 11 seasons that followed Gibbs' retirement, five men patrolled the sideline for the Redskins: Richie Petitbon, Norv Turner, Terry Robiske [three games in 2000], Marty Schottenheimer, and Steve Spurrier. Collectively, they had three winning campaigns and appeared in the postseason only once.

"While I fully understood the magnitude of the task at hand and the fact that there was no guarantee of success, I knew I had done the right thing [by returning to Washington]," Gibbs wrote. "There are a lot of football teams and coaching jobs, but there is no team and no job quite like this one. The Washington Redskins are one of the greatest franchises in all of professional sports. The team has a rich tradition that I came to appreciate and embrace. I felt fortunate to coach the Redskins from 1981 through 1992. Given the opportunity to return by owner Daniel Snyder, I feel fortunate again. I just hope we can achieve the same level of success.

"Even in my years away from football, when I was operating my racing team in Charlotte, North Carolina, and winning NASCAR championships, I still had an emotional bond with the Redskins and the Washington fans. When you share the experience of winning three Super Bowls and you see that pride reflected in the community, that feeling never leaves you. Over the past decade, I was approached by a number of NFL teams, asking if I would consider a return to coaching. Each time I said no. In my heart, I think the only job I could have taken is this one. I'm a Washington Redskin."

The Coach Says His Good-Byes

The first time that Joe Gibbs retired as Washington's head coach occurred on March 5, 1993. He had led the Redskins for 12 seasons, compiling a 124–60 regular-season record, a 16–5 mark in the playoffs, and captured three Super Bowl titles.

However, that success came at a cost.

"I left the Redskins after the 1992 season because I was whipped, physically and emotionally. The stories about our coaching staff working until 4:00 in the...

Details zur Ausgabe

• Verlag: Triumph Books
• Erscheinungsdatum: 2009
• Sprache: Englisch
• ISBN 10: 1600782701
• ISBN 13: 9781600782701
• Einband: Gebundene Ausgabe
• Anzahl der Seiten: 207
• Kontakt zum Hersteller: Nicht verfügbar
• Verantwortliche Person: Nicht verfügbar