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Despite his inability to find the old coaching magic that led the Washington Redskins to three Super Bowl crowns from 1982-91, Joe Gibbs will always be remembered as one of the classiest guys to ever grace an NFL sideline.
Gibbs, a devout Christian, announced his retirement Tuesday as the Redskins head coach and president, just three days after Washington lost its first-round playoff game at Seattle. His decision, with one year left on a five-year contract, stunned the team.
In a press conference at Redskins complex, Gibbs said that family commitments - including a 3-year-old grandson being treated for leukemia - led to his decision.
"My family situation has dramatically changed [in recent years]," Gibbs said. "The only way to do this job [as an NFL coach] is to go after it night and day; it takes every minute. Having weighed that . . . I felt like with my family, the most important thing I'll leave on this earth are my kids, grandkids, and the influence I have on others. I felt like my family needed me."
(Watch Gibbs' Tuesday afternoon announcement at Redskins.com.)
It was a difficult season for Gibbs and the team, who struggled on and off the field - especially with the November murder of defensive star Sean Taylor - before rallying for four straight wins to make the playoffs. Alas, the playoff loss to Seattle ended what many had hoped would be a "Hollywood ending" for the team from the nation's capital.
Gibbs, 67, has a dual reputation as a committed family and as a hard worker who spent long hours at the team complex - away from his family - during the season. But his retirement clearly shows he has decided to put family first.
"It was the toughest (season) for me," Gibbs said Monday, a day before announcing his retirement. "When you go through a season like that, for a while it's hard to regrasp reality."
The reality was that in the last four years - his second stint as the Skins' skipper - Gibbs was unable to lead the team to the dominance it had enjoyed in his first ...
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