Gray Matters
Gibbs Leaves Redskins Better Off But Future Is Cloudy

By Mark F. Gray

As Joe Gibbs said goodbye to Washington for a second time last Monday the opening lines of the Charles Dickens novel A Tale Of Two Cities came to mind.  The last four years were the best of times and the worst of times for the burgundy and gold.   But even in the bleakest hours it was also the season of light and the season of darkness.  Now after the winter of hope and we appear to be moving towards the spring of despair.

Though Gibbs record does not reflect any of the success that he had in the first tenure there can be no argument that the Redskins program is in much better shape than it was before he got there.   But with Daniel Snyder back in control without anyone who can police his decisions the descent back to mediocrity appears certain.
           
Sade once sang that it’s never as good as the first time and Gibbs second tenure was proof of that.  After a 12 year run with 124-60 mark including three world championships Gibbs didn’t reclaim that glory the second time around.  He was 30-34 and mastered the art of blowing halftime leads.  However, he did make the playoffs twice in four years after the franchise had made just one postseason appearance in the 12 years prior to his return.
           
Anytime you walk into Redskins Park the first thing you notice are the three glistening Super Bowl championship trophies that symbolize the Camelot Gibbs created during the 80’s.  His success and the fact that Snyder was a fan gave him instant credibility.   He was the only person who could keep the rebellious naive owner from spending frivolously and burying the team in salary cap hell.  Now without the hall of fame coach’s wisdom Snyder has autonomy to wastefully spend in an attempt to buy a championship and fail miserably in the process.

Snyder needs Gibbs because despite his wealth and business acumen he doesn’t know how to build a championship organization.  The mistake that most novice owners make is they feel that teams win championships.   However, to hoist a Lombardi Trophy, or any championship hardware, there is organizational synergy.  

Teams don’t win championships organizations do and Snyder’s ego is so out of control that will never happen.   If three Super Bowl victories doesn’t prove to Snyder that the team needs a general manager who works in concert with the coach to lay the foundation for the title run then nothing will.  For Snyder to say the program over the last four seasons “is not broke so don’t fix it” during Gibbs final press conference the organization is doomed to fail.

Snyder wants to be Jerry Jones, the Cowboys owner who has won Super Bowls with two different coaches and a shot at getting back this year.  Jones has an innate sense of how to build a champion because he not only has business savvy he understands the game.   He was co-captain of the 1964 national champions at the University of Arkansas.  Jones understands the championship synergy needed between the front office and the field.  Where Snyder spends with passion Jones spends with smarts.  Thus Dallas plays on and its back to square one in Washington.

If you judge the front offices of the franchises in the NFC East the Redskins are rock bottom.  Every team in the division has been to the Super Bowl at least once since Gibbs retired the first time except the Redskins.   Jones, Jeffrey Laurie with the Philadelphia Eagles, along with John Mara and Jonathan Tisch of the New York Giants aren’t arrogant enough to believe they don’t need personnel executives to run their operation like Snyder does.

There was no guarantee that if Gibbs finished his contract or renewed for another two seasons that he would lead them back to the Super Bowl.  However, he did give them stability.   His credibility in the locker room led the team through the death of Sean Taylor and brought them back after his back to back timeouts that blew the Buffalo Bills game the week of his death.  More than strategists, NFL coaches are leaders of men.  While Gibbs may have lost a step in game management, he proved to still be a hall of famer in leadership.

Gibbs program brought character to the franchise by purging a group of underachieving overpaid characters.   His discipline was tempered by faith and that carried over to the team which gave it a sense of direction.   The program for the next coach is better than it was for Gibbs when he took over four years ago.

Snyder says that he learned a lot from Gibbs since 2004 and the Burgundy and Gold faithful can only hope.   But for the first eight years of his ownership he hasn’t given fans too much.