There's still plenty of great discussion to be had on who our new head coach is going to be now that Joe Gibbs has called it quits for the 2nd time. My amigo at Behind the Steel Curtain thinks that Bill Cowher would look fine in the burgundy and gold (and green -- he'd get paid). That's one direction. I like Gregg Williams and coaching continuity a lot which may not be the sexiest pick but I think it is the one that gives us the best chance to compete next season. Please continue that discussion below and do not treat this post as closure on it, we should be discussing the merits of each approach. I expect a lot of advocacy out of you all.
But I did want to say thanks to Coach Gibbs. Watching the interview at the Official Site, Gibbs opened by commenting on how excited he was because he felt that he'd made the right decision, and I don't think he was talking about from a football perspective. It was the right decision given that he wanted to spend more time with his family, especially his grandson Taylor. Coach spoke about spending some time with his family over the weekend and that seemed to be the main reason he wanted to hang it up.
He was financially and fairly compensated for his time here, so I want to be careful not to overstate the point. But very few individuals in the history of the game have invested a comparable amount of themselves, personally and professionaly, into winning at football. A very small fraternity of people have done it for so long and so, so well as Joe Gibbs. For the fans who read the most about him -- us -- we know that what he invested went well beyond the on-field product. He had a reputation, unlike, say, Steve Spurrier, for living in his office. How many hours he sacrificed away from his family for the job I haven't the foggiest, but I'm sure it would put just about any coach to shame or to make them question their own preparedness.
Best of luck to Coach Gibbs and his family and thanks for everything. He gave us 16 years, 154 Ws, 4 Super Bowl appearances, 3 victories, Hail to you. I'm greatful. The team is considerably better off now than it was when he took over. And he left on his own terms, says Big Blue View with a great quote from Rick Snider: