Gibbs hangs it up

Coach-in-chief Joe Gibbs shocked team owner Daniel Snyder and Redskins fans everywhere by abruptly announcing his resignation. "I was struck by Tiki Barber's statement that 'football would not define me,'" said the coach. "It inspired me to take a step I had been contemplating since the Titans game. Like all the other core Redskins, it's time for me to play elsewhere."

Snyder moved quickly to replace the legendary Hall of Fame coach by offering the position to former Titans head coach Jeff Fisher. In spite of Fisher's 1-15 record in his last season in Tennessee, Snyder had to win a bidding war against Jerry Jones for Fisher's services. The announcement immediately triggered payment of a $2 million bonus to Gregg Williams, who was not named as Gibbs' successor.
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This story is fiction, of course, but could be a story line if a rumor reported on ProFootballTalk.com comes to pass. On October 25, 2006, PFT reported that Snyder had his eye on Fisher as a potential successor to Gibbs. Cowboys owner Jerry Jones reportedly has the same interest. There is open speculation that Bill Parcells may step down as the Cowboys coach at the end of the season.

ProFootballTalk describes itself as a reporter of rumors. The Redskins promptly labeled the story "nonsense."

Gibbs leaving at the end of the season would send to organization into a tailspin. As team president, with the stated goal of restoring the organization to a championship caliber, the coach-in-chief has set up a structure with two potential HC candidates already on board. A transition plan where Gibbs steps away from active coaching while remaining in active management is the best of all scenarios.

Snyder would be true to form if he reached outside the organization for a splashy, big-name signing hoping for immediate impact while ignoring the disruptive chain of events such a move would trigger. But, this is all hypothetical.

Isn't it?

Washington Redskins
Joe Gibbs