Thank you for bringing 3 Super Bowl championships to DC
Thank you for coaching the Posse, the Fun Bunch, the Hogs, the Capital Defense and Area 51
Thank you for being the greatest coach this city has ever had
Thank you for making a second run and taking our team to 2 playoffs out of the 3 years you coached here
Thank you for helping the team win 4 straight games after losing Sean Taylor
Thank you for giving us hope again
Thank you for the memories, you will be missed
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For Gibbs, It Was Time to Focus On Family
By Gary Fitzgerald
Redskins.com
January 8, 2008
Joe Gibbs cited family reasons as the primary factor for his retirement as head coach and team president of the Redskins.
Gibbs flew home to Charlotte, N.C., on Sunday afternoon to spend time with his family., including his wife Pat and sons J.D. and Coy. Gibbs said that on his return flight on Monday, he knew he wanted to retire.
One of the top concerns for Gibbs and his family was the health of his 3-year-old grandson Taylor, who is being treated for leukemia.
"When I came here [in 2004], my family was in one set of circumstances," he said. "Now it's totally different. It was a tough year for Pat, and that means a lot to me. J.D. and Coy are down there, and then there are all the things we went through with Taylor. It was just a lot of things. I don't think it was any one thing.
Joe Gibbs (AP Photo)
"There were a couple of things that were said that just grab you. And when I left there, getting on the plane, I had a real strong feeling what I wanted to talk to [Redskins owner Daniel M. Snyder] about."
Gibbs said that his family would have been supportive if he had decided to come back for a fifth season.
Said Gibbs: "Almost all of them said the same thing to me: 'If you want to keep going, we'll go with you.' It's just that I felt, after sitting with my family, that's not something I should do."
Four years ago, on Jan. 8, 2004, Gibbs had returned to coach the Redskins after an 11-year hiatus.
Since then, Gibbs compiled a 31-36 record, with two playoff appearances.
In his first stint as Redskins head coach, from 1981-92, Gibbs helped guide the franchise to three Super Bowl championships. He was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1996.
Gibbs's overall record is 154-94 in the regular season. He was 17-7 in the postseason.
During his first stint with the Redskins, Gibbs was famous for working late hours and sleeping in his office.
Upon his return in 2004, he thought he could manage time better so that he could be home more, but he soon realized "that wasn't going to work."
"Before it was all said and done, I was right back to [working late hours]," Gibbs said. "And I think that's the way it is supposed to be. I don't think I can do it any differently. And the coaches work so hard. We wouldn't know what to do if we went to bed at 11 p.m. I just couldn't make it go a different direction."
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