Joe Gibbs

For the Jamaican record producer, see Joe Gibbs (record producer)

Joe Jackson Gibbs (born November 25, 1940 in Mocksville, North Carolina) is a Hall of Fame football coach and NASCAR Championship team owner. He is the 20th and 26th head coach in the history of the Washington Redskins. Well known for his long hours and superior work ethic, Joe Gibbs put together championship teams with players whom may have had mediocre careers playing other NFL teams. During his first stint in the National Football League, he coached the Redskins for 12 seasons and lead them to eight playoff appearances, four NFC Championship titles, and three Super Bowl titles. After retiring in 1993, he switched focus to his NASCAR team, Joe Gibbs Racing, which won three championships under his ownership. In 2004 Gibbs came out of retirement to rejoin the Redskins as head coach, signing a 5-year contract.

Early career

Gibbs attended Cerritos Junior College and then San Diego State, where he played tight end, offensive guard and linebacker on the football team, coached by Don Coryell. Gibbs graduated from SDSU in 1964 and earned a master's degree in 1966.

Gibbs began his career with a stint as offensive line coach at San Diego State under Coryell (1964-1966). He held the same position at Florida State (1967-1968) before serving under John McKay at Southern California (1969-1970) and Frank Broyles at Arkansas (1971-1972). Gibbs then rose up to the National Football League, hired as the offensive backfield coach for the St. Louis Cardinals (1973-1977) by head coach Don Coryell. After a season as offensive coordinator for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers (1978) under McKay, Gibbs rejoined Coryell with the San Diego Chargers (1979-1980).

As the offensive coordinator for San Diego, Gibbs spearheaded the highly-successful "Air Coryell" offense. Using a sophisticated passing attack, the Chargers and quarterback Dan Fouts set multiple offensive records during Gibbs' two seasons there, notably becoming the first team to average more than 400 yards of offense per game. After 17 years of coaching as an assistant, in 1981 Gibbs was offered a job as the head coach of the Washington Redskins by Redskins owner Jack Kent Cooke.

Washington Redskins career (1981-1992)

After firing then-head coach Jack Pardee, Cooke was on the lookout for candidates. When general manager Bobby Beathard pointed out the forty-year-old San Diego assistant coach, Cooke saw potential in him and Gibbs was hired.

Gibbs' first season with the Redskins started inauspiciously when the team lost their first five games. However, the losses served as a catalyst, and the newly-motivated team improved and reached an even 8-8 record for 1981.

Gibbs' second season with the Redskins (1982) realized the dreams of the entire Redskins fanbase: an NFC Championship Game and a Super Bowl victory. In a strike-shortened season, the team advanced through the playoffs and eventually won Super Bowl XVII by beating the Miami Dolphins 27-17, taking revenge for Washington's loss to Miami in Super Bowl VII.

The following season (1983), Gibbs' surprising success continued and the Redskins once again won an NFC Championship, advancing to Super Bowl XVIII. The Redskins were an overwhelming favorite going into the game, but proved overconfident, collapsing and being crushed by the Los Angeles Raiders 38-9.

Three years later, in 1986, Gibbs coached the team back to the NFC Championship game, but lost to the New York Giants. It was to be his last championship game loss. The following season (1987), the Redskins got into the playoffs and reached Super Bowl XXII, where they rode on the arm of quarterback Doug Williams to blow out the Denver Broncos 42-10.

Four years later, in 1991, Gibbs' Redskins were the most dominant team in the league. They won their first 11 games before finishing the season 14-2, and cruised through the playoffs to the Super Bowl. In Super Bowl XXVI, the Redskins defeated the Buffalo Bills 37-24, giving Gibbs and the team their third Super Bowl title.

After one more season of coaching, Gibbs suddenly retired in early 1993, surprising many. A notorious workaholic, he had begun to suffer some health problems, and he cited a desire to spend more time with his family.

In 1996, Gibbs was enshrined in the Pro Football Hall of Fame. He is one of the winningest coaches in NFL history, with a record of 124 wins and 60 losses, and a post-season record of 16 wins and five losses. His combined winning percentage of .683 is third all-time (behind Vince Lombardi and John Madden). In his 12 seasons, the Redskins won 4 NFC East titles, reached the playoffs 8 times, and finished with a losing record only once (7-9 in 1988). Gibbs is also the only NFL coach to ever win three Super Bowls with three different quarterbacks (and also three different starting running backs).

Style of play

Although Gibbs helped craft a passing-oriented attack during his time in San Diego, his Redskin teams were known as rushing-oriented squads that focused on power running football. By building a strong offensive line (known as "The Hogs") Gibbs was able to control the line of scrimmage, allowing workhorse running backs like John Riggins to power the ground game. To this Gibbs added a deep passing attack that supplemented and complemented the ground game, utilizing receivers like Art Monk. Gibbs' offense was aided during his tenure by strong defensive units under the direction of defensive coordinator Richie Petitbon.

Gibbs system was robust enough to be successful without a Hall-of-fame-caliber quarterback at the helm. The Redskins' Super Bowl victories were won using Joe Theismann, Doug Williams, and Mark Rypien -- capable players who could be very successful when given a strong supporting cast.

Gibbs is credited with inventing the single back, double tight end set. He used it to neutralize Lawrence Taylor, realizing that to successfully block him with a running back was impossible; an extra tight end and a tackle were required. When Gibbs incorporated the shifting and motions for which his offenses were known, the formation also created a lot of mismatches that could be exploited.

NASCAR career (1991-present)

Gibbs created his NASCAR team, Joe Gibbs Racing in 1991, a year before he first retired from the NFL. His son, J.D. Gibbs, is the president of Joe Gibbs Racing and oversees daily operations of each of the teams. Joe Gibbs Racing consist of NASCAR Nextel Cup and Busch Series teams as well as two Late Model racing teams. His Nextel Cup teams consist of #18 J.J. Yeley, #20 Tony Stewart, and #11 Denny Hamlin, and a part-time #80 team with Jeff Fuller. His Busch Series teams consist of #18 J.J. Yeley and #20 Denny Hamlin, with a part-time team (#19) for Aric Almirola. Gibbs has won three NASCAR Championships, starting in 2000 with Bobby Labonte, and in 2002 and 2005 with Tony Stewart.

Return to Power (2004-present)

2004-2005 season

After spending 11 years in retirement from the NFL, Gibbs returned to the Redskins at the request of owner Daniel Snyder in 2004. During the press conference which welcomed him back, he stated that even though he enjoyed NASCAR immensely, he had missed coaching in the NFL even more.

Many coaches from the old Redskins era returned with Gibbs as well, including offensive line coach/assistant head coach Joe Bugel, offensive coordinator Don Breaux, quarterbacks coach Jack Burns, and tight ends coach Rennie Simmons. The former head coach of the Buffalo Bills, Gregg Williams, joined the Redskins as the defensive coordinator as well.

Joe Gibbs Racing will remain in operation. Gibbs' son, J.D. Gibbs, will assist in racing management while his other son, Coy Gibbs, will assist with the Redskins.

In 2004, Gibbs had a poor season with a 6-10 finish. Critics questioned whether he was ready to be back coaching after having sat out for a decade.

2005-2006 season

Gibbs coached his team to an impressive 3-0 start in the 2005-2006 season, however by mid-season the Redskins had slipped to 5-6. Gibbs inspired his team by telling them that they had to win 5 games in a row or they would not go to the playoffs. The team did not let him down, and finished the season 10-6, earning a playoff berth.

In the wild-card playoff game, Gibbs led his team to a 17-10 victory over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, who the Redskins lost to in a controversial mid-season game 36-35. In the next round of the playoffs, even Joe Gibbs could not help the Redskins beat the top-seeded Seattle Seahawks, when they could not capitalize off of turnovers.

The lack of offensive production during the playoff game against the Seattle Seahawks resulted in Gibbs hiring Kansas City Chiefs' offensive coordinator Al Saunders as offensive coordinator for the 2006 season. Saunders comes from a similar background as Gibbs through Don Coryell and is thought to be able to "tweak" the offense to become more efficient. Because of the Saunders hiring it is believed that Gibbs will have the role of Head Coach/CEO with the Redskins in 2006 and will largely deal with personnel matters as well as having more time to focus on special teams and defense while Saunders can supplement Gibbs with the offense.

Personal

Joe Jackson Gibbs was born on November 25, 1940 in Mocksville, North Carolina. He currently resides in Washington, D.C. with his wife Pat. They have two children, J.D. and Coy.

External links

• Pro Football Hall of Fame: Member profile
• Official Redskins website biography of Gibbs
• Official Joe Gibbs Racing website biography of Gibbs
• Books by Joe Gibbs at Amazon.com